Detective Valdez stared up at him, looking bored, but Clint had his attention.
His lawyer clamped his hand around his arm. “Don’t say a word.” To the detective he said, “This interview is over. Unless you have proof my client actually committed a crime, we’re leaving.”
Detective Valdez leaned back like he had all the time in the world. “Everyone knows what you did and what you’re still doing. It’s all over the local news. You’ve lost your job and are facing charges. Quit while you’re ahead before you end up in jail or worse.”
“Is that a threat?” Clint didn’t really take it seriously. So far, the cop had nothing.
“Liz is smart. Strong. Determined. She’s not going to just keep taking it. Tate will do just about anything for her. He’ll protect her with his last breath if it comes to that. Careful who you piss off.”
Clint gave the cop a fuck-you glare and walked out.
Tate, a restraining order, nothing would keep him from Liz.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tate held Liz’s hand and walked her toward the cabin. He wanted to get her out of her head and focused on their future, not the past, or what they were facing with Clint on the loose and causing trouble.
Liz stared up at the cabin. “What are we doing here?”
“Planning.”
“But Drake and Adria haven’t officially moved out.” Depending on the work going on at their house, they moved back and forth between the two places.
“Only for a few more weeks. Then this place is ours.” He walked up the porch steps, pulling her along with him.
“We shouldn’t be here when they’re still living here.”
“Drake and Adria are at work. They won’t be home for at least another hour. And I asked them if it was okay if we came over and sketched out a plan for expanding this place.” He unlocked the door—because of Clint, they locked everything now—and held it open so she could go in ahead of him.
She stopped short in the entry, spun around, covered her mouth, then dropped her hand and said, “What is this?”
“Dinner.” The table was set for two. White dishes, silver place settings on green napkins, half a dozen thick round candles, their flames dancing, Liz’s favorite pink peonies with white snapdragons filling a crystal bowl, and a bottle of wine chilling in an ice bucket. “Roast chicken and potatoes, crispy just like you like them, broccoli and cauliflower with cheddar sauce, and cheesecake with fresh strawberries for dessert.”
“Tate, this is amazing.”
He pulled her close. “It’s been kind of crazy lately. I wanted to do something special and unexpected.” He wanted them to have a worry-free meal. Here. So they could get a feel for the place and dream about the future they both wanted.
So he got together with Trinity and Adria and set this up. The smile on Liz’s face told him he’d pulled off the surprise.
She went up on tiptoe and kissed him softly. So much promise lingered in that simple kiss. “I love it. Thank you. And it smells great.”
They’d both lost their appetite last night after handing over the videos to Detective Valdez. They drove home, the radio down low, Liz’s anger simmering as she stared out the window and studied the stars. They snuggled on the couch, neither of them wanting to talk, and watched a movie neither of them remembered much of when they headed up to bed and a restless night.
Liz hung out at the ranch today, not really doing anything, but thinking about how she couldn’t face everyone at work and being pissed that the owner asked her to take a few days while they evaluated what happened.
It wasn’t fair. Neither was Clint getting away with it and murder.
Tate wished all of this was over already. He didn’t want to think about it and worry about Liz anymore.
“Let’s eat.” He nudged her toward the table and held the chair out for her to sit.
She glanced up at him, smiling all the way to her eyes, and squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Tate. This is really lovely.”
“Truthfully, I’ve never done anything like this, so I asked my sisters for help.”
She squeezed his hand again. “I appreciate the thoughtfulness and effort.”
He leaned down and held her gaze. “You mean so much to me, Liz. I want you to know that and never doubt it.” He didn’t know why it seemed so important for her to believe it, but he needed her to with everything inside him. He wanted her to know