Rick thought for a second. "Why did you become an FBI agent? Women as smart as you with Yale law degrees generally become lawyers, not cops."
"Something really bad happened to me in Law School and a sleaze ball lawyer made sure that the person responsible was never punished. The New Haven police made a couple of small errors in gathering evidence and the lawyer used that to subvert the system. It infuriated me, and then I realized that it happens every day, that regular people are denied justice because the cops are not good enough or don't care enough to get it exactly right. So when the FBI came to recruit on campus I decided to check it out. I decided I wanted to put bad guys in a hole so deep that no lawyer could ever dig them out. I wanted to fight so that no other woman ever had to go through what I did. I wanted to be the best agent ever."
"Would you tell me about the law school incident?"
"Yes," she said, and recounted the story almost exactly as she had told Hayley.
Rick's eyes had gone dark and his jaw was clenched when she finished.
"This Drew fellow, what was his full name?"
"Rick, you're not going to…"
"Do something stupid? No, but you never know who you might meet in a dark alley."
"I don't …"
"Kate listen to me, I can find out on my own, but I think it's better if you tell me."
"Andrew, Andrew Bracken."
"Would he by any chance be the son of Senator William Bracken?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"He's the bastard responsible for getting me kicked out of the Marines. He and I already have a date in a dark alley; he just doesn't know it yet."
Kate shuddered at his tone, knowing that Rick didn't make threats. He was stating a certainty.
She decided to get the discussion back on topic. "So now you know all my secrets, do you still want me?"
"Are you seriously afraid of that, me not wanting you?" Rick asked with a gentleness that gave her a fluttery feeling.
"What can I offer you? I'm nobody special, just a half-broken government employee with tons of baggage and miles of insecurities. You could have any woman you want. Why me?"
"I've met many women who have made it clear they're interested in me," he said, "but most of them don't really want me. They want my fame, or money, Ferraris, or maybe a sanitized and homogenized version of me, but not the real me. I want a woman who'll love the real me, the hillbilly from the mountains of North Carolina who got lucky. I want a woman who'll be my best friend, the person I can always count on, a woman with a sense of adventure, with a sense of humor, with an unshakable commitment to duty and honor. I want a woman who's strong and independent, yet gentle and caring, who's brave when necessary and who's smart enough to keep me on my toes."
He glanced at Kate and clearly saw the fear she tried so hard to conceal. "Kate, I'm forty-seven years old, and in all my life, I've only met two women who were all of those things. One of them is dead, and one is sitting on the couch with me this very instant. You asked what you can offer me. You can offer me the most precious thing in this world, the heart of an extraordinary woman, and I want your whole heart. Nothing less will do."
The tears were flowing, but she hoped her smile gave away their import. She was deliriously happy; to hear those words from a man she trusted implicitly was almost more than she could stand. She tried to untangle her legs so she could slide over to him, but he preempted her intentions by the simple expedient of lifting her bodily into his lap. As he folded her in his arms, she met his gaze and whispered, "You already have my whole heart, have for some time now."
"When?" he asked.
"Last night at The Sanctuary. You should thank Britney, she was the final link."
"I will."
"I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you," she said in a rush, before she could chicken out. "I just don't have any experience in this romance thing, I've only been on a few dates, I didn't go to my prom, I've never kissed a guy," she paused, then coughed, then forced the words out, "neverhadsex."
Rick gently stroked his fingers through her hair. "It's not even remotely possible that you could ever disappoint me. I would count it a great honor to experience those first times with you. Do you remember that off-the-charts hug this afternoon?"
"I'll never forget it."
"Everything we do is going to be like that, off the charts."
They sat quietly for some time, just enjoying each other's presence.
Then Kate roused herself and posed a question. "Can you tell me some more about the conference?"
"The main purpose is to implement a plan that Jordan and I have been working on for some time. Other than you and Hayley, everyone else who will be there knows the objective, but not the details. That's all I can say right now. Jordan will skin me if I spill the beans ahead of time."
"Who else is going to be there?"
"Jordan, Vienna, Javier, Hayley, you, and me. Maybe a couple more."
"Where is it going to be?"
"At my house in the Keys."
"You have a house in the Keys?"
"Yep, you'll love it, it's very tropical."
"Is it on the beach?"
"Yep, private and secluded, so be sure and pack a swimsuit, preferably a bikini." He winked at her.
"Rick Castle, what you would do if you saw me in a bikini?" she teased.
"Die happy." They both laughed.
"I told all the other participants that anyone who wanted to do so was welcome to stay over the weekend. It's already been cleared with your boss."
"Well, in that case, I guess I will."
"Would you like to go on a date with me Friday night while we're in the Keys?"
"Sure! Where were you going to take me?"
"We'll only be twenty miles from Key West, and there's just about any kind of nightlife you could want there. Do you dance?"
"Salsa, Tango, Samba, yes, others—not so much."
"So then, dinner and dancing?
"Okay, I'd love to." She was quiet for a minute, then looked up at him and said, "Tell me some more about you."
"What part?"
"What did you do after the court-martial?"
"I was pretty much in shock. Losing Kyra, the baby, and my career so close together almost destroyed me. I went into a deep depression and drank too much, spent what little money I had and pretty much hit rock bottom."
Kate's heart ached for him; the pain that drove the valiant man she knew to such depths must have been unimaginable. "How did you come back from that?" she asked.
"Two people showed up at the shabby motel where I was staying. I never did know whether they planned it that way or if it was just coincidence. However it was, they both gave me a reason to live."
"Rick, who were they?"
"The first was J. Edwards Pritchard…"
"The president of the university?"
"Yeah, except he wasn't the president then, he was the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and he reiterated an offer that he had made a while before and I had forgotten about. He offered me an associate professorship with tenure if I would continue the work in physics I had done for my dissertation at Cal Tech. He was a visionary and saw the potential in my work even before I did. He gave me a year to get sober and straighten myself out before I had to report for work."
"Who was the other person?" Kate asked, fascinated.
"Jordan Shaw."
"I've wondered how you two got to be so close."
"She was teaching at Georgetown, so she took me back with her and put me up at her place. Then she threatened, badgered, nagged, bludgeoned, and pummeled me to quit drinking and get myself back in shape. Hell, she even promised to sleep with me if I stayed sober for a year."
"Did you?" Kate wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that question.
"Sleep with her or stay sober?"
"Both."
"I stayed sober, and, no, I didn't sleep with her. It would have ruined everything."
Rick took a large sip of his wine and a deep breath before continuing.
"So I took up the faculty position at USF in the fall of 2002. The work was going well, so I started looking for a graduate student. I interviewed dozens of kids, but none of them really clicked. One evening I left work late and was really hungry, so I stopped at Shogun over on Dale Mabry for dinner.
The bartender was this gorgeous young Asian woman, so I sat at the bar, thought maybe I could get her number. When she brought my drink, I noticed she had a wedding ring, so I switched to just friendly conversation.
"It was slow that night so we had plenty of time to talk. I found out first of all that her husband was a sushi chef at the same restaurant, then that she was working to save up for graduate school. Her main interest was in Biomedical Engineering, but I told her that if she was willing to help with my research, then I thought I could get her a fellowship that would pay all her expenses."
"This was Vienna, right?"
"Yeah. I didn't realize it at the time, but that was one of the tipping points of my life."
"So she accepted the fellowship?"
"Yep, and we dove in to finishing up my research, and published an article in Classical and Quantum Gravity that really rocked the physics world."
"What was the article about?"
"We solved one of the great questions in physics; we were able to prove that repulsive gravity exists."
"That was really big?"
"Big enough that the next year we were nominated for the Nobel Prize. We didn't win, but it was still a great honor"
"I get it," she grinned. "Really big. Is that when you started Orion?"
"Yes," he nodded. "There were two reasons why I started Orion, the main reason you'll find out later. The other reason was to find cutting-edge research that was coming out of the university and develop it into something that was commercially viable.
"Vienna and I combed through the research that was going on then and found literally dozens of pieces of technology that just needed a little development work to be a moneymaker.
The university gave us a building to get started and we started hiring the best people we could find. In that respect, the Nobel recognition came in handy, since it attracted people who otherwise wouldn't have given us the time of day.
"To make a long story short, within a year we had patented twelve innovations and licensed them to various corporations, and the royalties started to roll in.
"The most important thing I did to get Orion to where it is today was to turn the day-to-day management of the Institute over to Vienna. I got a lot of flak over that decision, but my gut told me it was the right thing to do, and I always go with my gut. Turns out, I was right. She is a positive genius at organization and management. Most of the credit for the success of the organization belongs to her."
"So, you own Orion?"
"Sort of. It's set up as a closely held corporation. There are only three stockholders, me, Vienna and the university. I'll also tell you that I don't take a penny out of Orion; I don't draw a salary, and my share of the profits either goes back into the Institute or to charity. Vienna operates pretty much the same way, except she does draw a salary."
"That's an amazing story, Rick! Who would've thought that you would have walked out of a court-martial fifteen years ago and end up where you are today?"
"I agree. I keep pinching myself to see if I'm dreaming."
"Speaking of dreaming, I just looked at the clock, and it's almost one am. How about we call it a night, and pick up this conversation in the morning?"
"Okay, I didn't realize it was that late, either." He set her on her feet and stood, taking her hand in his, and leading her to the foot of the stairs. "I could come tuck you in," he said, giving her his signature grin.
"Uh-uh, I'm a big girl, and I think I can put myself to bed," she gave him a half-hearted glare, but then added, "…maybe next time."
He stood, watching her ascend the stairs. Halfway up she looked back over her shoulder. "Rick, you're staring at me again."
"Uh…sorry. Goodnight, Kate."
"Goodnight, Rick." She disappeared down the hall to the guest room.
