Return To Maine Chapter 9
A/N: Thank you all so much for your responses. I'll probably combine all your ideas as an epilogue, but that's not for awhile yet. So sorry for the delay in this chapter. Hope to post Chapter 10 next Sunday, but it may take a day or two as the next chapter will take them into Bar Harbor and maybe into Acadia National Park and I will need to research the areas. Thank you so much for your support and your patience.
To the guest reviewer who lives on Long Island and corrected me, thank you! I apologize for the mistake. It has been duly noted and I hope that you stay with us.
Kate tried to ease herself out of Rick's embrace and out of bed, but he stirred and groggily mumbled, "Stay in bed."
"Just going to the bathroom, babe." He mumbled an unintelligible response and eased his hold on her, allowing her to ease from the bed and into the bathroom.
Closing the bathroom door and turning the bathroom light on behind her. As she crossed the floor on her way to the toilet, she caught her reflection in the mirror above the sink and halted.
Damn it! He'd left hickies on her neck! There was one at the base of her throat and one higher up the side of her neck just below the lobe of her ear that would be very hard to hide, the one on her right breast wouldn't be a problem.
Her gaze traveled down her body. There was another just below her waist and one on the inside of both her thighs. Also, not a problem to cover.
They had always taken great care to not mark each other's bodies, but of course they'd gotten carried away having been separated for two long months. She traced the purple bruising with her fingertip. She couldn't be mad at him for this and she wouldn't. Besides, she was pretty sure that she had left her own marks on him. An involuntary shiver ran up her spine at the memory of his hands and lips against her body, the way he'd felt buried deep inside her.
She had to shake it off for now. Regaining her composure, she continued to the toilet.
She exited the bathroom after relieving herself and washing her hands to find him sound asleep, his face and his body so relaxed and peaceful in slumber. She was struck again by the depth and intensity of his love and surprised at her own. Never, in her wildest imagination had she dreamed that real love could feel like this.
She stood in the backwash of the bathroom light and watched him as he slept. Still too troubled to sleep, she turned out the bathroom light, dropped yo her hands and knees and groped her way across the bedroom floor until she came across Rick's tee-shirt and rising to her feet, she stood and slid it over her head, relishing the musky, masculine scent of his cologne.
Glancing at the digital clock on the bedside table she saw that it was only 6:00 in the morning and knowing that he'd probably sleep at l east another hour, give or take a few minutes, she decided that she'd go downstairs and make him breakfast in bed.
In the kitchen, she turned the timer off on the coffee maker and manually turned it on. Once the coffee was done, she made herself a cup and went to work.
She found a bud vase in an upper cabinet and located a serving tray. Filling the vase with water, she went into the dining room and selected a white rose that hadn't wilted from the arrangement and added it to the vase of water, wishing it was red instead of white.
Back in the kitchen, she set the tray with the bud vase and complete two place settings complete with napkins, silverware, cups, and juice glasses. And then set about frying sausage and chopping vegetables for their omelets.
She was just whipping up the eggs when Rick slipped up behind her and snaked his arm around her waist causing her to startle a bit.
"Good morning. Feeling a bit edgy this morning, are we?" he asked, nuzzling against the side of her neck.
She opened her mouth to deny it, but changed her mind. He'd see right through any excuse she gave him. "I didn't sleep well so I guess I'm just tired/"
He took the bowl and whisk from her hands and set them on the counter. Grasping her by the shoulders, he turned her in his arms and gazed at her.
"Please tell me that you aren't still worried about Ryan and Espo."
She sighed heavily. "How can I not be? What they did was highly illegal. What if Gates finds out? They'd lose their badges over something like this! And why? Just so they think they might catch us together? I mean, why do they even care? It's none of their business! And what if they stake out my apartment, your loft, and the Old Haunt? Where does it end? What if they do catch us together? What then? Are they going to rat us out or are we supposed to just be the butt end of their filthy little remarks and jokes?"
When her rant died down, he was finally able to get a word in. "I'm not denying that what they did was wrong because it was. Nobody is going to find out. I've been friends with Tom for years and he said that he'd take care of it and he will. I didn't press any charges because I know what it could do to their careers and I can't do that to them, in spite of what they've done. Why do they care? Come on, honey. They love you like a sister and feel that they need to protect you."
"I don't need their protection, Rick!" Kate exclaimed hotly.
"I know you don't and deep down they know it, too. Call it male ego or pride or whatever you want to. And like it or not it's just something ingrained into the male species. It's our very nature to want to protect the ones we love. But it's more than that. too. They're your partners and partners look out for each other. And I really think that's all they were trying to do. I don't think they'll be trying to stake us out anymore. Not after this, but even if they do, they'll never find us here because we're the only ones who know about it. They can try to run my financials under Richard Castle, but they don't know my given name and that's the one I use when we go out or come up here. Just for the sake of argument that they do find out about us, I don't think they'd rat us out. That being said, eventually people are going to find out and then what? Are we supposed to go on hiding for the rest of our lives?"
"No." she answered meekly. "I know you're right."
"We'll get even with them. Just wait and see. So, what else are you worried about? And son't tell me that it's nothing. You were way to restless last night for it to be nothing."
There was a long pause before she answered. "I don't want to seem ungrateful or unappreciative because that isn't the case. I know that you deposited the money into an account for me as an act of love. It was a really sweet thing to do and I love you even more for wanting to do it, but…"
"If the money makes you that uncomfortable, then I'll withdraw it and close the account out."
"It won't hurt your feelings?"
"No. I just want you happy, that's all. And if not having it makes you happy then I'm happy."
"Thank you! Money doesn't make me happy, but you do. I love you."
"I love you, too. And thank you, too."
"For what?" she asked.
"For loving me enough to dress in that sexy nightie for me. No one has ever done that for me before."
:No? Really?"
"Really. Meredith never cared enough to do that for me and Gina would make snide remarks about me living in my teen-aged fantasies and tell me that I needed to grow up."
"Well, they were wrong, babe and they're not me. Besides, teen-aged fantasies aside, I love your fantasies. I see a lot more of these in your future." she said, rising up on her toes and kissing him lightly on the lips.
"I love you. I really could take you back upstairs and…"
"Uhh, and ruin the surprise I was working on for you?"
"You were making me breakfast in bed?"
"Duh, yeah. And as tempting as that sounds, I'd hate to have to throw it all out and invite the bears for breakfast."
"Yeah, you're right. Wouldn't want to do that. So, can I help?"
"I'd say no because that would ruin the whole idea, but since you were supposed to still be sleeping and the element of surprise is ruined and you're onto my idea, then yes, you may help."
"Sorry, but just knowing that you wanted to do this for me means everything to me."
"Thank you. That's really sweet of you. So why don't we have breakfast down here and you can tell me what you have planned for us today?" she asked, adding the eggs and the chopped vegetables to the sausage mixture.
Rick set the small kitchen table while she added grated cheese to the omelets and folded them over before adding the remaining cheese to the top.
"Well, I had planned a day trip into Acadia today, but I think as tired as we both are that we'll save that for tomorrow when we're both better rested. We'll leave before sunup so we can watch the sunrise from there and just spend the day sight seeing."
"Mmm. That sounds nice."
"Good. That will be our agenda for tomorrow. Today, let's just stick close and go into Ellsworth. We didn't see much of it last time we were here. I hear they have an old English style pub with excellent food and beer choices. They have several historic buildings. a museum, we could take a helicopter ride over Acadia and when we get tired we're only ten minutes away."
"Sounds good to me."
"You know, New Amsterdam Bank has a branch in Ellsworth and with this being Friday, they should be open today so we could stop in there and take care of business."
"Are you sure that it won't hurt your feelings?"
"No. I overstepped and I'm sorry, honey. I shouldn't have done that."
"Apology accepted. And as far as Acadia goes, let's just go ahead and go. Maybe we can beat the holiday crowds."
"You're okay with that?"
"Yeah, sure. Sounds like it would be fun. We won't get to see the entire park, I'm sure, but it could still be fun."
"We could always rent a room and I already have a day pass for us, so we could go to the park tomorrow and spend the day. In the meantime, we could scout around in Bar Harbor. I hear that there's a lot of things to see and do there."
Kate tilted her head back to look up at him and laughed at his boyish enthusiasm. He was so excited about this. God, she loved her man/child and he was so excited about this. There was no way in hell that she'd deny him this. Besides, in all honesty his joy and excitement was contagious.
"Okay. I guess it's a good thing that we haven't unpacked, yet. Now, we'd better eat our breakfast before it gets cold and get on the road, then."
"Yeah, I guess we should. Just one more thing, though."
"Okay. What is it?"
"You have to let me buy you some souvenirs. Nothing extravagant, I promise."
"I see nothing wrong with that as long as you keep it simple."
"I will, I promise and you'll be there to reel me in if I start to get too carried away."
"You can count on that. Okay. Let's eat. I'm starving after all the calories we burned last night." Her comment went right over his head. He was so enthusiastic that he hadn't heard a word she had just said.
"Love you, honey. I gotta get my phone and find us a hotel room." he said as he was off and running.
She didn't have the heart to call him back because he was so excited and to be honest, so was she.