Savior
Chapter 31
-xx-
"Thanks Mike. Send me over the closing paperwork and I'll re-adjust the specs of closing. They accepted the new terms."
She drummed on the steering wheel as she listened to other agent go on and on. Cate finally disconnected the call and let out a groan.
In all of the time Cate had spent as a real estate agent, Mike Conrad was one of the most obnoxious people that she had dealt with. Between how scatterbrained he could be when it came to bids being sent in to hitting on any woman that he worked with Cate cringed whenever her clients liked a house he listed.
She tugged softly on the pendant hanging around her neck. Whenever Derek went away for a case, she fought to keep her mind from the possibilities of what he was dealing with, and any danger he could be in. It was tough because he usually couldn't tell her where they were headed.
It's a glass of wine to keep her sane
And I love the sound of her full name
Natural southern beauty
Can't explain what it does to me
She's everything in my whole world
That's my forever girl
Cate snapped out of her reverie when she heard the lyrics. She grinned as she matched it up to the text that Derek had sent her when they landed.
She couldn't help but laugh at the thought of him listening to country; he always made fun of her when she would put it on in the car. Now he was texting her song lyrics that made him think of her.
After lunch with her clients to go over the counter offer on their bid, she texted her sister to see what Jackie and Maddy were doing for the day. Cate said she would swing by after lunch and the three could go shopping.
Cate pulled into the driveway of Jackie's house and laid on the horn. She then typed away on her cell phone.
You love the sound of my full name? I think a different last name would sound better.
She laughed as she added a winking face after the text; something about Derek Morgan made her so brazen. He had made an off hand remark when they were away about getting married, and Cate let it slide.
Minutes later, Jackie and Madison exited the house and started towards Cate's truck. Before she left the restaurant, Cate made sure to put Maddy's booster seat in the backseat.
"Hi Auntie Cate!" the young blonde yelled across the front lawn.
"Hey sweet girl," her aunt replied as she climbed in. "Ready to go destroy Auntie's credit card?"
The girl in the backseat giggled. "Always ready!"
Cate winked at her as Jackie climbed into the passenger seat. "So I can blame Auntie Cate for you asking to use my credit card the other day?"
The blonde shrugged innocently in the backseat. "Auntie lets me use hers all the time."
The younger brunette shrugged before backing out of the driveway. "No worries," Cate began. "I crank in the rewards because of it." The two older women laughed in the front seat.
"How did lunch go?" Jackie asked as Cate drove away from their house.
Cate shrugged. "I am waiting for Mike Conrad to send over the closing paperwork. I know him well enough to not expect it until the end of the week."
The younger brunette slipped on her sunglasses as she turned on to the highway. "Have you and Derek started looking?" The older sister asked nonchalantly as she looked up from her cell phone.
Cate laughed. "Mom has sent me a few listings, but nothing has popped out at me." Cate threw her blinker on and merged into the left lane. "We have the luxury of not having to rush to move into a new place, so it makes it a little easier."
The two sat in silence for a moment as they listened to Madison sing softly to herself in the backseat. "Have you finished packing up your condo?" Cate shook her head.
"I started," she said and slowly turned back to the road. "Alex is supposed to be coming over to help me tomorrow. We're going to put the big stuff that I'm keeping in the storage facility, and anything is getting donated."
Jackie nodded. "I can send Steve over in the afternoon to help, too. Maddy has a play date with a girl from school."
Cate smiled. "That'd be really helpful."
"Hey Auntie Cate!"
Cate turned to look quickly over her shoulder. "What's up, love?"
"When are you and Derek going to get married?"
The brunette licked her lips and giggled. "Where did you get an idea like that?"
Maddy laughed. "My friend Courtney at school; her auntie is getting married, and she gets to be the flower girl. I really want to be a flower girl."
Cate sighed softly. "You'll be the first to know, my sweet girl."
Madison smiled contently in the back seat. "Really? She'll be the first to know?"
Cate laughed at her sister's reaction. "Shut it," the younger sister said as she swatted her sister's arm. "I'd marry him tomorrow, Jackie."
Her oldest sister smiled. "You should, then."
"Daddy would have a heart attack." The two laughed. "Can you imagine – we ran off to get married and didn't tell Mom or Dad. They'd disown us!"
"We thought Mom was going to disown me when I got my tongue pierced," Jackie replied, sticking her tongue out to show the silver ball still there after all these years.
"That's different," Cate answered. "This is marriage. If Daddy wasn't able to walk me down the aisle, he'd freak out."
Jackie nodded. "That's true. I thought you never wanted a big wedding."
Cate shrugged. "The aisle of the courthouse works just as well."
The two broke out in laughter. Cate glanced in her rear view mirror and cursed softly to herself when she spotted the same Bentley she had seen two nights earlier.
Jackie heard her, and turned to look out of the back window of Cate's SUV. "Is it a coincidence?"
The brunette shook her head. "There's no coincidence when it comes to him." She noticed they were getting closer to the mall, so she turned her blinker back on and started to merge to the right lane.
She kept a watchful eye on her rearview mirror and noticed the Bentley merge to the right as well. Without asking, she noticed Jackie had her cell phone out, and was taking pictures of the vehicle behind them. Cate pulled off at the exit for the shopping center, and tried her best to stay as calm as possible.
As it was a Tuesday in the early afternoon, the parking lot was almost empty. Cate pulled into a spot out front of the main entrance.
"Jackie," Cate began as she killed the ignition. "Get Madison inside, and call Dad."
The older brunette turned to her sister and shook her head. "Are you crazy? I'm not leaving you out here to be a hero, Cate."
Her sister sighed as she took her keys out of the ignition. "Just listen to me for once. Please get Maddy inside."
Jackie picked up on the pleading in Cate's voice and nodded. "Fine. Let's go, Maddy." She had her hand on the door handle and stopped. "If you're not inside in five minutes, I'm gonna be pissed."
The younger brunette smiled softly. "I'll be in as soon as I can." The blonde in the backseat had unbuckled herself and was waiting for her mother to open the door.
Jackie stepped out of the vehicle and helped Madison out of the backseat. "Five minutes," her older sister warned as she closed the door.
Cate nodded, and watched as the two walked across the parking lot towards the front door. She watched through the rearview mirror as the Bentley turned off.
-xx-
Derek held the door open for JJ as they entered the police station together. "Here's to hoping we'll be home for dinner tomorrow night," the blonde said as she mock raised her coffee cup. "And speaking of dinner," she turned to Derek with a smile. "Will and I would really like it if you and Cate joined us for dinner one night."
Derek grinned. "We'll definitely plan something, Jayje." The former media liaison smiled. "Cate is way better at making plans than I am, so you should reach out to her."
"I will do just that," she replied as they walked into the conference room they transformed into their workspace. "I'll see her Saturday for kick boxing." The blonde's eyes lit up at the mention of her new hobby. She was so excited to have a friend who wanted to join her at the early morning sessions.
Derek's cell phone beeped in his pocket. His eyebrows furrowed as he turned on the device to find a text from an unknown number.
He stared at the photo of a gun on the dashboard of a car. From the angle of the photo, he could see Cate's SUV parked just ahead of the car the gun sat in.
-xx-