Perfect Victim, The (62 page)

"The investigation is over. I've been cleared of all charges."

She nearly dropped her cup. "You're cleared?"

He smiled crookedly. "Yeah.
"

"I'm glad for you.
"

He reached into an inside pocket of his parka and pulled out a sealed brown envelope
.
He placed it on the table between them
.
"I thought you'd want to see this."

Addison
'
s heart began to hammer. She reached for the envelope
,
opened the clasp, and poured its contents onto the table
.
A heart-shaped locket
,
its faux gold chain tarnished with age, lay in a heap in front of her
.
She reached for it with trembling hands
,
touching the chain, her fingers finally resting on the locket itself
.

''The clasp is broken," Randall said.

"Where did you get this?" she asked, unable to tear her eyes away from the tiny heart she held between her fingers.

"It was found in Agnes Beckett's mobile home."

Somehow, Addison had already known. She clicked open the locket and stared at the yellowed photo of a newborn infant with dark hair and a tiny, wrinkled face. "It's me."

"She loved you, Addison. That's why she gave you away. So you could have a life with all the chances she didn't have."

A dull, lingering ache wrenched at her heart. Tears filled her eyes, spilling down her cheeks unacknowledged. She raised her eyes to his. "It hurts to know she suffered so much for so many years. For me. I didn't even know it."

"It made her happy to know she gave you the opportunity for the kind of life she never had."

Addison closed the locket and gripped it tightly in her hand, struggling to control the flood of tears waiting at the gate. ''Thank you." She slid the locket back into the envelope.

His gaze narrowed at a point across the room. "Why is Gretchen giving you hand signals from behind the espresso machine?"

“
What?" Addison started, caught the puzzled look from him, and shifted in her chair to frown at Gretchen. Chagrined, the older woman resumed polishing the already gleaming brass of the espresso machine.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." She started to rise.

He stopped her by touching her arm. "Whoa. What wasn't such a good idea?"

''This ..." Exasperated with herself for acting so foolishly, she motioned dumbly at the table between them.

"You asked me to meet you here," he said. "I'm here. Now sit down and spill it."

She took a deep breath, reminding herself once again that she didn't need him to have the baby. Yes, he could hurt her. She'd relinquished that power to him long ago.

Knowing she couldn't put this off any longer, she sank into the chair. "I'm going to have a baby
.

* * *

Randall’s world shifted. His chest swelled with love for the woman sitting across from him. He couldn't believe she didn't know how he felt about her. After everything they'd been through
.
For the second time since he'd known her
,
she'd surpr
i
sed the hell out of him.

How could she possibly believe he wouldn't want their child? That he wouldn't be elated by the news? How could she not know that he was head-over-heels crazy in love with her?

She gazed into his eyes
,
searching for something that seemed to elude her
.
"You've been in D.C. for the last month."

"Not of my own free will
.
"

"You haven
'
t given me a clue as to how you feel
.
"

"I love you, Addison
.
I've told you that
.
"

"So
you have."

"Those are big words for me."

"Like they
'
re not for me?"

Indignant, he raised his voice.
"
Dammit, I follow through
.
"
When the two students sitting next to them turned to listen, Randall sent them a glare and lowered his voice. "How in the hell could you possibly believe I wouldn't want this baby?"

"You've never mentioned wanting a family. You've never even spoken
of long-term commitment
.
"

''That doesn't mea
n
I don't want either of those things." He ran a hand through his hair, studying her from across the small expanse of table.
"
Until I met you
.
.
.
" His words trailed off. How could he explain his feelings to her when he barely understood them himself? How could he put into words feelings and emotions so strong they frightened him? Could that gut-wrenching kind of love even be described?

"I guess we're both going to need a little time," she said quickly.

All of five seconds, he thought as he pulled a tiny, velvet-covered box from the pocket of his parka. ''It looks like we're both full of surprises today."

Satisfaction wafted over him as she stared dumbfounded at the box. "Like there's a rain check inside," he said with a hint of gentle sarcasm. ''That would be really classy of me."

She reached for the box, holding it to her breast for a second before opening the lid. Her breath hitched as she took in the sight of the brilliant marquise-cut diamond set into a simple gold band. It gleamed beneath the muted lighting, a tiny star that burned brightly for both of them.

"I've been carrying this around with me for a month, agonizing over whether or not you wanted to keep me around."

"A whole month?"

"I've got a lot of bad habits, Addison. I've got some serious problems to work through." Randall reached for her hand and pulled her across the table until their faces were close. "But I realized that what we have, the love we share, is everything to me. To pursue our love. To have a family together. To be happy. It's our birthright."

"Birthright." She liked the sound of it, the way it felt on her tongue.

"I've permanently retired from the NTSB." He'd faced his demons, only to find they no longer existed. "Jack offered me a job right here in Denver as his partner. As long as I stay off the booze."

"You can do it."

"I went to my first AA meeting last night."

Her eyes filled. Simultaneously, a smile played at the corners of her mouth. "I'm proud of you."

A sense of rightness, of happiness settled over him. "I love you, Addison. I've never said those words to anyone but you."

He looked down at the stained tablecloth, gathering his
courage, his resolve, wondering why in the he
l
l he'd waited until now to ask her
.
"Will you marry me?"

Through a haze of tears, she watched as he took the box from her and removed the ring. For the first time in her adult life, she felt true happiness. Stunning
,
she thought, and smiled when she saw the tears in his eyes
.

"I
'
d love to, Talbot," she said, and he slipped the ring onto her finger
.

***