Hide and Snake Murder (24 page)

JT leaned her forehead against mine. “I'm going to take him for a while. At least until they figure out what to do with him.”

Her eyes were beautiful. And right now they were the warm mahogany I loved. Her dark hair was loose and cascaded around her shoulders. I tucked a wayward strand behind her ear. “You have a good heart.”

“I try.” She stepped away, grabbed my hand, and we continued our circuit around the meadow. “There's something I want to ask you.” Her tone belied nervousness.

She was intently studying the ground we were traversing.

I eyed her. “Spit it out.”

“I don't want to scare you—”

“JT! What?” Where was my woman's usually glib tongue? I was the one who had a hard time with the L word, the one who was used to lovin' 'em and leavin' 'em. Was she about to cut me loose? I stopped dead in my tracks, heart in my throat. JT still held my hand, and when I stopped, the momentum swung her around to face me.

My eyes widened in alarm. “What?”

In a blink, JT processed the emotions pouring off me. She stepped into my space, cupped my face with her hands and held my head still. “Shay, it's okay.” Her eyes pierced my heart, her voice hoarse with emotion. “I was going to ask you if you might be interested in staying at my place.”

“Well, yeah, tonight I planned—”

“No.”

I snapped my mouth shut.

“Staying permanently. As in living there.”

I released the breath I'd been holding in a whoosh and slapped a hand to my chest. “Perm—oh my god, I thought you were going to dump me. You about gave me a stroke.”

“Oh, Shay, no. I'm so sorry. No.” JT pulled me tight against her.

It felt like my heart might leap through my skin. I whispered into her neck, “You scared the crap out of me.”

“Not my intent.” Then she pushed me to arm's length. “I figured since we spend most of the time there anyway, and your place is so small, and Dawg would have a playmate, and Rocky could move into your apartment—” I silenced her with my mouth.

When we broke apart, I wasn't the only one sucking air.

“I don't know.” I took a deep breath. “I'm barely used to the idea of telling you I love you. Moving in together is huge.”

I adored that forlorn look JT got whenever she was within reach of what she really wanted but something blocked her from getting it. She was usually pretty sneaky about finding a way around the problem. Probably why she was such a good cop.

“Will you think about it?”

“Yes.” I pulled her in for another smooch.

She braced a hand on my chest and dodged my lips. “Is that ‘yes, you will move in with me' or ‘yes, you'll think about it'?”

I squinted at her, a million thoughts charging through my mind. I'd leaped that humdinger ‘love' hurdle just to be taken aback by the prospect of domestic bliss in one abode. With two dogs. I always believed that kind of life wasn't for me. My white picket fence dreams flew out the window the first time I kissed a girl. Lately, defining moments kept blasting at me like hundred-mile-an-hour straight-line winds. Maybe the time had come to go with the flow.
Live in the moment, Shay.

“Okay. I can't believe I'm gonna say this. I'll move in with you.”

We sealed the deal with lengthy lip lock.

Life. It's a crazy, precious thing. You never know what's going to come hurtling your way. But damn, it's good to be alive to see what happens next.

the end

April McGuire, Back Porch Studio

About the Author

Jessie Chandler is the vice president of the Twin Cities chapter of Sisters in Crime and a member of Mystery Writers of America. In her spare time, Chandler sells unique, artsy T-shirts and other assorted trinkets to unsuspecting conference and festival goers. She is a former police officer and resides in Minneapolis. Visit her online at JessieChandler.com.