warriors. There was no reason for that worry now. With the troubled childhood he’d described, Gunnar had to be mortal, had to be an ordinary human. Well, maybe not quite ordinary, with abs like his, but . . .
She grinned, heart light and relieved as it dashed out of the shadow of yesterday’s conversation. She’d been wrong, about a lot of things. And now, magically, they were righting themselves before her eyes.
“Care to share the joke?” Gunnar asked.
Katy gasped and glanced up at him, blushing to think that she’d been so caught up in thoughts of him that she’d forgotten he was in the room. “I’ll see what I can find on Bottomless,” she said. “How soon do you need something?”
“I think it’s safe to say immediately.”
She laughed. “And when will your whirling dervish of an aunt arrive?”
“A day or so after immediately?” he said with a wink.
Oh, good gracious. This man should not be allowed to wink. Katy smiled at him, hoping she didn’t look like a lovestruck idiot. “I’ll get to work, then,” she managed. “Not a problem, considering I don’t have anything else to do these days.”
Gunnar dropped his head and peered up at her contritely. “Yeah, about that.”
She watched him, eyebrows raised. Now what?
“I was hoping, if I offered a decent-enough apology, you might consider taking back your resignation.”
The room brightened, like the sun had been waiting for a good reason to shine. Katy reached across the table and touched his hand. The heat of his skin set hers to tingling, but she tried not to think about that. “I don’t think you’re the one who needs to apologize.”
“I did undermine your authority,” he said. “And I didn’t trust that you had it together.”
“Well, to be honest, I’m not sure I did. I brought my baggage to the job, and that’s never okay. You did what a good chief should. You kept my feet on the ground, even if that wasn’t what I wanted.”
“So, resignation rescinded?”
“Yes, most definitely rescinded.”
Gunnar’s smile lit up the room where the sun couldn’t reach. Katy leaned into its warmth and let the magnitude of her thoughts sink in. This man kept her feet on the ground. He was an anchor. He was her anchor, just like her father was for her mother.
Joy flooded her body. From now on, her gut got top billing, no matter how brilliantly logic played devil’s advocate. Ah, how she loved magic.
Chapter Nineteen
Katy closed the door on the stunning lake home and decided that, despite not really being a bona fide agent anymore, this might be her proudest real estate moment. Not only had she found the perfect house for Gunnar in record time, the price fell below his budget and offered one of the prettiest water views she’d seen anywhere on Bottomless. Plus, it was vacant and waiting for him to move in. If this place didn’t make him happy, the man simply could not be pleased.
Now all she needed to do was show him the house and then show him where to sign. She glanced at her watch; three hours until sunset. He needed to see this place in daylight to properly appreciate it, and since she was due back at the station tomorrow, this afternoon offered their only shot. The thought of being back at the station made her smile since, only a day ago, she thought she’d worked her last paramedic shift ever. What a difference a few days, and one seriously important conversation, could make in a person’s life.
Pulling out her phone, she texted Gunnar the address and asked him to meet her. He texted back asking if she could give him two hours and, though it bummed her out to have to wait longer for him to see it, she realized that would give her a good window to go see Quantum and to check on Shiloh. He’d been on her mind lately, like something about his life needed her attention. Plus, she really wanted to see what he’d done with his chickens.
As she pulled up to the stables at Inglenook, those very chickens seemed to form a welcoming party, swarming into the yard when she turned off her truck. Shiloh had certainly not exaggerated when sharing his poultry plan—chickens of every imaginable shape and color bobbed happily at the ground: red, brown, black, white, speckled, puffy, and plumed. The kid’s vision made her smile, and she couldn’t imagine a better, more inspiring and imaginative place in the world for him