CH12

Sophia hated these days. She had to explain herself to the committee. Still it was the committee that gave her the weaponry and other things that she needed to complete her job. It didn't hurt that she was paid handsomely for the work that she did.

She was down in the garage of her home while the kids were at school and her husband was working at their restaurant helping make one of the many delicious meals that her family enjoyed when he was home and cooked for them.

She was presently waiting for one of the 5 committee members to show up on their screens, he was late. All of them were in the dark and she had no idea who any of them were and she hadn't tried finding out. They wanted what she wanted so why try and find out? Finally he came up on the screen, so to speak, since all 5 of them were effectively screened and their voices were technologically modified. "We have read your report on the attack in Alaska. While we are glad at your success you lost men and resources needlessly. We advise you to learn from this mistake and not repeat it again," he cautioned her. She was not immune to being replaced or eliminated so that their organization remained secret.

"I understand and I can assure you that I am and will avoid another encounter like this one." She was already thinking of alternatives should it ever come up again. "As for the loss of the two planes, it's only a minor nuisance, a small price to pay for the elimination of almost 60 polar bear shifters." Sophia was not concerned about the loss of two planes. They couldn't be traced back to anyone anyway. And they weren't necessarily lost to her forever. All she needed to do was steal them back to put them to use.

"We would also like to remind you that trained operatives do not grow on trees. It takes months of training after we find the right candidate," one of them said sternly. "Losses against polar bears are to be expected. We've done a number of raids against weaker shifters without any losses. We've even taken out one or two of Kodiak bears with only minor injuries," Sophia reminded them.

"We are aware of your successes, which is why you are still in charge. For your information 6 of your men and women who were injured have succumbed to their injuries. You will be receiving 12 new trainees to take their place. All of the others are still in training," one of them stated. "We will remind you that trained men and women WITH experience are more valuable than the new rookies we are sending you. Do try to keep that in mind in the future," she was advised and watched as each member of the committee disappeared from her laptop.

Sophia shut down her laptop and took it back upstairs and stored it in her hiding place that required a code to even open and that was after it had been found.

She had promised her husband that she would be in the restaurant today to help him with the lunch crowd which got her back down to the garage and into her BMW. Once she reached the restaurant she walked straight to the kitchen and found her husband busy cooking. Still she managed to gain his attention. "Hi babe. Let me wash my hands and I'll be back to help," Sophia said and watched her husband smile as she turned to grab a coat to put on and washed her hands.

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He wasn't sure exactly why but he was excited and was smiling widely. Of course his daughter had noticed. "Are we going to see Kate today?" Alexis asked, hoping to see her and get cookies. "They invited us over yesterday, so yes, we're stopping there on our way home, but we're going to pick up the dogs first," Rick told her. Midas and Maggie had already met Kate and Johanna so they should be good.

"You stay here pumpkin this will only take a moment," he said and jogged up the stairs. He was back almost immediately and opened the rear door of the truck. "Come on you two, up." And he patted the seat, watched both of them look up at the height they needed to jump, and they both walked in circles. "Okay you big babies." Rick leaned down and lifted Maggie up first followed by Midas. "You are such wimps," he groaned but they were still just puppies, even if they were a lot bigger.

Alexis climbed out of the truck the second it stopped and her dad turned it off then she ran to knock on the front door. "Okay you two, come on out." Rick tried again and watched Midas just stand there looking down. "FINE! But I'm replacing you two if you keep this up," he threatened, not that they understood or believed him. The second they were down and out of the truck they ran after Alexis.

Rick was last to the door and found Kate holding it open for him. "Hi." And he stepped close to her and enveloped her in a hug. She simply closed her eyes and melted. 'Gods above, but he really does know how to give hugs!' She had her head buried in his chest as he started to let go of her. 'Kiss him!' the voice in the back of her head all but demanded. She couldn't gain control fast enough and found herself kissing him as enveloped her again and kissed her back. She had been kissed before but none of them were ever like this. It felt like Rick was kissing her very soul. Meanwhile he could feel the bear in him wishing he would do more than kiss her. Her lips were silky soft and as his tongue searched her mouth, he found her taste to be exquisite. He could feel her hanging onto him as she searched his mouth with her tongue.

They finally broke for air and Kate got down off her toes and buried herself into his chest as he continued to hug her. Her blood was going south and she needed to extract herself before she lost total control or her mother found them. Still… "WOW!" they both said at the same time. She let go of Rick. "Come on in, Mom has been planning almost all day and been cooking for hours it seems," she offered and stepped aside. Both had forgotten that the downstairs kitchen was mostly open and the front door could be seen from the kitchen.

"Why thank you Alexis, I'm glad you like them," was the first thing either Rick or Kate heard after the kiss. Kate turned her head and could see her mother staring at her which had her turning red and ducking her head. She knew why she had kissed him but not why she had lost control so quickly. A piece of her wanted to kiss him again however she had total control now.

"Did you get a cookie pumpkin?" Rick asked as he walked past Kate giving her an "I'm so going to kiss you again and soon" look as he passed by. Her heart pounded in her chest. No one, absolutely no one, had ever gotten that kind of reaction out of her. Hell, she had broken Demming's nose her last day at work just because he was presumptuous and had put an arm around her shoulder. What was worse was she wanted Rick to kiss her again. She was all set to wrap her arms around him from behind but stopped herself. 'Hug him, kiss him!' said the voice. However she didn't do either of those and let him approach the kitchen where Alexis and the dogs all were.

"Something smells good." Rick took in a deep breath savoring the scent. "It had better. I had forgotten just how much trouble making this was," Johanna mentioned, as she slid a pan filled with fingerling potatoes coated with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and garlic, into the bottom oven. "I've never had a double oven before, but now I don't know how I lived without one." Johanna had two things cooking at the same time. "So what are we having?" he asked. "Oh, no Mr. Nosey. Stay out of my kitchen!" Johanna told him and shooed Alexis and the dogs out of her kitchen.

"Do you know what she's up to?" Rick questioned looking at Kate who was standing just outside the kitchen looking in. "Nope. I got pretty much the same treatment, except in my case it was, "Not a chance Katie, now get out of my kitchen and stay out." She watched as her mother glared at her. Kate's heart soared. Her mother seemed to be living again, even if she was still way too skinny. But Johanna was eating again and doing things. She had even eaten everything at Rick's place yesterday which had been a welcome sight.

"Something to drink?" Kate offered. "Milk, water, wine, something harder?" They only had two bottles of wine and a bottle of Tequila which had cost her $150 at the only alcohol store in town. Plus it was the only bottle they had at that price. "Beer if you have any," Rick said. She made a face. "Sorry, Mom is more of a wine drinker and we almost bought the entire store as it was anyway." She didn't like disappointing him for some reason. 'Kiss him to make up for it,' the voice told her which made her groan. "Not to worry I brought some of my own just in case. I'll be right back." He got up, hurried out to his truck, and came back with a six-pack. He took one out and put the rest in the refrigerator. "Would you like one? It's pretty good," he offered looking at Kate. "Sure why not." She took the bottle, opened it, and took a sip.

She looked at the label. "That explains the honey I taste," Kate commented and took another sip. "You don't like it?" Rick wasn't hurt and yet somehow, it made him sad. "I don't hate it, it's just not to my taste I guess," she replied, but kept sipping it though she only ever finished half of it while he was already working on his second bottle. He ultimately left the other three behind when they left to go home.

Half an hour later and Johanna was serving everyone plates of what she had spent most of the day working on, or so it seemed to her. "This looks familiar, I just can't place it," Rick remarked. Kate had never seen it in her life that she could remember. "It's Beef Wellington; fingerling potatoes with rosemary, sage, thyme, and garlic; spinach gratin; those Pillsbury rolls," Johanna explained. They didn't have a booster seat for Alexis so they made do with throw pillows. Johanna had even pre-cut the Beef Wellington into tiny bite size pieces for Alexis already. A glass of milk and water all around and they were set.

Rick was half way done since he was a fast eater. "I take it back, you shouldn't be a lawyer, you should be a chief. Open your own restaurant in town. You would pack them in." He kept on eating. "Thanks, but a restaurant requires book work, keeping on top of food deliveries, hiring and firing workers. Plus it me took forever to make this." Johanna was pretty sure she wasn't cut out for restaurant work.

"Drive to Rapid City and arrange for weekly deliveries. Find an architect to design your space, engineers to supply heating and cooling, plumbing and electrical. A structural engineer to account for the cooling units on the roof. A kitchen consultant to design your kitchen and select equipment based off your menu. Work out what it costs to purchase the food you need, the cost of electrical, the lease, employees, and insurance to find out what to charge for each meal to turn a profit. Simple," Rick stated.

"And all of that's exactly why I shouldn't do it." Now Johanna knew she wasn't cut out for it. "Do you like to cook? I mean really like it? Why did you make this? I would have been happy with a few hot dogs or hamburgers," Rick queried. "Well, it was a little fun," she had to admit. However she had done it to impress him and get him over so he was closer to her daughter who seemed to like him.

"Great, you and Kate can create a menu and create an appealing description of each. Decide if you're only open for dinner or add lunch or brunch to that. You leave the architect, kitchen consultant, and engineers to me. I know just who to call and he owes me a favor." Rick was excited, he got to do something.

"And you expect me to do all the cooking? I can't spend my entire day cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Johanna countered. "That's why you go to the local high school and search the home economics department or is it called culinary cooking now? Anyway, talk to the teacher and offer the best kids jobs to help you. Hire the widow lady down the street who knows how to cook just one thing to perfection. Hire high school girls to wait tables, be the receptionist. Hire the kid who wants to be in management to help you keep track of deliveries. Give the kids in this town jobs. It will keep them from doing other things that they shouldn't be doing. You live here, be a part of it." He tried encouragement.

"All that takes money and we don't even have jobs," Johanna countered. Rick already knew the architect, engineers, and kitchen consultant weren't going to cost her a dime. "That all depends on whether you want a standalone building or if you want to take over an empty section of a strip mall. Yes, the kitchen equipment, tables, and décor will cost you something and it will take time to recover that cost," he admitted. "If ever. I could fail you know, and leave us in bankruptcy." Johanna saw the downside. "Not if you can cook like this every day or every five or six," Rick said reasonably, pointing to his food.

"You need something to do Mom, you can't just sit here day after day reading Rick's books," Kate pointed out while teasing him. "HEY!" He heard that which only got a huge grin from Kate. "I'll think about it," Johanna agreed hesitantly. "Perfect I'll have the architect out here as soon as he has an opening." All Rick had heard was yes. "And as far as your brokerage lawyer job, you can do that too. Create flyers and put them at the entrance to your restaurant. Give each customer one with their bill. You'll be so busy you won't be able to sleep," he said. "On second thought forget that part, not sleeping is bad." Johanna and Kate chuckled at his expense.

"Cookies," Alexis offered her 2 cents. "And specialize in cookies." Rick brightened up causing Alexis to smile. "Plus if we do this fast enough, you'll be up and operational before summer is over."

Dessert turned out to be mixed berries in a glass with whip cream on top with grated chocolate sprinkled on top of that. "You can put that in the dessert menu." Rick put his spoon down. He helped clean up while Kate held onto Alexis. "Ready to go pumpkin? We still need to feed Midas and Maggie," he reminded her. Kate reluctantly let go of Alexis and followed them to the door. "Don't forget your cookies," Johanna called out, getting Alexis to run back and take a plate filled with cookies wrapped in cellophane. "Thank you."

"You're more than welcome honey. And when you run out don't forget to come back for more," Johanna told her as Alexis nodded.

He lifted the dogs into the truck and turned to see Kate smirking at him. "They have a phobia about jumping." Rick tried to defend himself. "It's high up and they're just puppies," he said, only to see her face hadn't changed.

"You'll have the local sheriff eating out of your hand in no time. I mean when does a sheriff get a chance to hire a New York City Homicide Detective?" Rick changed the subject. "An unemployed homicide detective," Kate moaned, only to find herself in his arms yet again getting a hug. She closed her eyes and tried to disappear into him. 'Gods above, how does he do this?' She didn't want him to let go of her, but then he did, causing her to moan lightly. 'Kiss him damn it!' the voice in her head was screaming!

"Kate?" She looked up at him. "You're going to make a terrific sheriff when the town elects you next year." He wrapped her in his arms again and kissed the top of her head. "And maybe mayor at the same time!" He had a sudden epiphany. "You can do it, I have faith." He turned, got into his truck, and rolled down the window. "The architect will be out here next week, I guarantee it," he told her and started the truck. He backed up and waved as he left, getting Kate to wave back. 'Why didn't you kiss him?' The voice sounded pissed off. She simply ignored the stupid voice and went back inside.

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"Dad?" Alexis had a question as Rick was tucking her into bed. "What sweetie?" He stopped and gave her his undivided attention. "Do you like Kate?" she asked. "I, um…" Boy, that was a tough question. He barely knew her, however his bear had been screaming at him. It was taking all of Rick's will power to silence him. 'We don't want to scare her off. Give her a chance to come to us,'he silently said to his bear.

"Kate's very nice pumpkin. I noticed that you seemed to like sitting on her lap with her arms wrapped around you," Rick pointed out gently. "She's special Dad. Kate feels nice and safe." She answered his question. "More safe than me?" He played at being hurt. "DAD!?" Alexis wasn't buying his act. "Okay fine. I'm glad you like her though. But I do not want you going across the highway on your own to go see her. Crossing that road is far too dangerous! Are you listening to me?" Rick tried to sound like she would be in a lot more than just trouble. "Yes Dad." Alexis shrank into her bed, knowing that she had been thinking of doing just that using her pedal car/bike to get there. "You'd better be listening Alexis, something happens to you and I'll…" He didn't want to scare her by saying die, it was just too extreme. "Promise me you won't cross that road alone, ever." He tried to sound serious. "I promise Dad," she told him. "Pinky promise?" He held out his hand and extended his pinky finger. Alexis pulled her hand out from under the cover and hooked her little pinky with his. "Remember pumpkin, you promised…now go to sleep. I love you." And he leaned in to kiss her forehead. "I love you too Daddy," she replied.

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Rick knew Oscar worked late so he had no qualms about calling him at this hour. "Oscar, it's Rick I have a favor I need to ask you." He got right to the point. "Richard Castle, as I recall, and we both know my memory is perfect, I owe you two favors. So what's on your mind?" It must have something to do with his work he was betting. "Let me guess. You need another kitchen. I just don't see how though." Oscar was stuck on that one. He had already designed the kitchen Rick had now.

"As a matter of fact it is a kitchen. It also happens to be an entire dining room too. She needs a location, a theme, colors, kitchen equipment, and everything else that goes with a restaurant," Rick told him. "So we're talking a commercial kitchen rather than another house kitchen. How big?" Oscar started asking questions. "To be honest, that's where you come in. Have you got time to come out here next week and help her look for something?" He crossed his fingers followed by his toes which actually hurt a little given he was wearing shoes. "So you're thinking about a remodel. I think I can fly out on Thursday and go back on Saturday provided I don't miss the 7:05 game." Oscar only had one request.

"Perfect! I'll email you the tickets and meet you at the airport. You'll be staying with us of course," he announced. "So I get to spend some time with your little ray of sunshine, I hope. As for your project, I'll put together what I think I might need and wait for your email. It'll be good to actually see your home's kitchen. All I've ever seen is the renderings and your pictures," Oscar pointed out even though he designed it for Rick. "Oh, I need to warn you - we have two dogs now," Rick mentioned. "So do we, so that shouldn't be a problem. Send the tickets and I'll be there." Oscar ended the call.

"This had better work or they're both going to kill me." Rick fell back into his sectional. "Or torture me and then shoot me."