His Every Choice (9 page)

“I guess that makes us Sherpas,” Detective Phillips joked.

“No, you’re a yak,” Hunter told him.

“So, I’m less than a Sherpa.”

“We’re not putting value judgments on it,” Hunter responded drily.

Kallie eyed Hunter, wondering why exactly he was so testy. Probably the pain, she
decided. For the first time that morning, she’d really gotten a closer look at his
scar.

He had multiple scars, on his chest, actually. There was the scar from the bullet
entry just below his right nipple, and then a two large scars running down the center
of his chest from his surgeries. They were stitched up, but the wounds themselves
were swollen and red and almost looked like deformities.

Clearly they were painful, and moving around so much was probably putting him under
a great deal of strain and discomfort. She knew that she needed to be patient with
him right now because of that fact.

Even if he was being a bit of a brat.

They waited a few minutes until the nurse returned with the requisite wheelchair.

Kallie thought that Hunter might get upset because of the connection to his father,
but actually he didn’t seem to mind sitting in it at all.

Once he was seated, he took a duffel bag on his lap and was quiet as a church mouse.
Detective Phillips carried the rest of the stuff, allowing Kallie to be free to sign
the paperwork that finalized Hunter’s departure.

Finally, they arrived out front, where a taxi awaited. Phillips loaded the stuff
into the trunk and then slammed it shut.

He turned and looked at both of them. “I guess this is where we part ways,” he said.

Hunter got slowly to his feet, refusing any attempts to help him stand up. “We’re
not going to have a Casablanca moment,” he said, extending his hand.

“Hey, we’ll always have Paris,” Phillips said.

“Here’s looking at you kid,” Hunter said, winking. He gave him a friendly slap on
the shoulder. “You’ve been really good to me and Kallie, Detective. I won’t forget
that.”

“Call me if you need anything,” Phillips told him, smiling warmly. “Us yaks enjoy
being loaded down with all kinds of crap. It’s what we live for, you know.”

Hunter laughed and lowered himself into the backseat of the taxi, slowly.

Phillips walked the few steps to Kallie. She saw that his eyes weren’t entirely dry.
“I’m glad everything worked out,” he said, extending his hand for her to shake.

Instead, she gave him a big hug. “Thank you for being there for us,” she said, feeling
a wave of emotion overcome her.

“Hey, anytime. Anytime. It was the least I could do after blowing your case.”

They broke off their hug.

“What are you doing when you go back?” she said.

“My flight’s later tonight. I’ll be back on the job tomorrow.”

“No rest for the weary,” she said.

“That’s the story of my life.” He smiled kindly. Then his smile faded. “But do
be careful, the detective said, his voice lowering. “I know that you want to think
it’s all over, now that Terrence is out of the picture and Hunter’s on the mend.
But I’m worried about Trevor—I’m worried that he’ll come after you both at some point.”

Kallie felt a chill run up her spine. She didn’t want to think about that right now.

But she understood the detective was simply doing his job. “We’ll be careful, I promise.”

A minute later, she was in the backseat of the taxi with Hunter, and they were pulling
away from the curb.

“I kind of grew to like him,” she said, surprised by the revelation.

“What’s not to like?” Hunter agreed. He took her hand in his and looked at her.

“Sorry I was being such an ass back there.”

Kallie smiled softly. “I understand. You’re only human.”

“Believe me, I’ve never been more aware of that fact than I am at this very moment.”
He smiled. “But being with you makes up for everything. I’m the luckiest man on
the planet.”

“Thanks for saying that,” she said.

“Come here, baby.” He pulled her in and gave her a long, seductive kiss.

Her entire body relaxed into him, feeling instantly protected and held and loved as
his lips warmed hers.

It didn’t take them long at all to arrive back at the hotel. Unfortunately, there
were more paparazzi there then ever. Kallie shook her head. “Should we try and sneak
in somehow?”

“No, I’m too worn out to bother. Let’s give them the money shot they’ve been waiting
for.”

“Okay,” she said, not at all certain that it was a good idea.

She got out of the cab and somebody spotted her. “Hey, there she is—Kallie Young!”
someone shouted, and then there was a rush of photographers crowding around her, snapping
pictures and asking questions.

She didn’t like it, didn’t like the feeling of being hounded and invaded and unable
to escape. It was a claustrophobic feeling. There must have been almost a dozen
of them crowding, pushing and shoving—trying to get the best shot.

Why they asked so many questions, she had no idea. Maybe to get her to look at the
camera?

Hunter slowly eased out of the cab. When they saw him, the paparazzi became even
more frenzied. “Could you help us with our bags?” Kallie yelled to the taxi driver,
wanting more than anything to get inside the hotel.

“Sure thing,” the driver said, and got out to grab their things from the trunk.

Hunter was finally out of the car, breathing a little heavily. He raised his hand,
signaling for the paparazzi to quiet down. “Hey knock it off, you bunch of jackals.”

There was a ripple of appreciative laughter. “How you feeling, Hunter?” one of them
called out.

“If you want to know firsthand, come closer and I’ll give you a demonstration.”

“No thanks.”

Hunter smiled. “Look, I know what you guys want. You’ve got a job to do and we’re
happy to do our part. Just give us some space so we can get our bags inside and everything,
and then Kallie and I will pose for some pictures. Sound good?”

The paparazzi were surprisingly compliant. Kallie watched as the crowd slowly dispersed,
allowing the taxi driver to carry the bags inside the hotel with little trouble.

Hunter hobbled over to the sidewalk and motioned Kallie over to him. “Come on, baby,
let’s give them some sugar.”

She felt her face flush as the paparazzi gathered to take photos from just a few feet
away. Hunter was used to this—he’d been to premieres and spent time on the red carpet.
She’d never experienced anything like it, and she didn’t enjoy the sensation of being
under the microscope.

Still, Kallie knew that this was the deal Hunter had made with the photographers,
and they seemed to respect it. They’d quieted down and were content to merely snap
photos and talk amongst themselves.

Kallie and Hunter stood close together, smiling and waving. Then Hunter grabbed her
around the waist and pulled her even closer. “Give me a kiss.”

“In front of everyone?”

“They’ll love it.”

“I know, but—“

“No buts.” He planted a firm kiss on her lips, and despite her misgivings, she responded
passionately.

Whenever Hunter kissed her, it was as if nothing and nobody else existed for that
brief time.

When they broke off their kiss, the paparazzi broke into a round of applause that
sounded genuine to her ears.

“Way to go, Hunter!”

“You show ‘em, Kallie!”

Their congratulatory shouts echoed as Hunter pulled Kallie into the hotel lobby.

Soon, they were finally in their own hotel suite, and the door was closed. They had
their privacy.

Hunter collapsed onto the couch, groaning. “So now I feel like I just got to the
top of Mount Everest,” he said. “And I’m looking around and thinking—damn—I forgot
I was going to have climb back
down
this son of a bitch.”

Kallie laughed, as she made her way to the couch and sat, rubbing his shoulders gently.
“And you don’t even have your trusty yak to help you.”

“That feels so good,” he said, as she continued to rub his tense shoulders.

“You should rest,” she said. “I’m going to take a bath if it’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay,” Hunter told her. He grabbed her hand and kissed it with great
affection. “It’s your turn to be taken care of now.”

“No, no, no.”

“What?”

She shook her head. “You’re not ready to take care of me just yet. You’re still
healing.”

He looked up at her balefully. “I’m almost ninety percent.”

“Bullshit.” She stroked his cheek lightly. “Don’t rush it, honey. I’m fine. I
know you’re going to take care of me forever and ever. But right now, you need to
keep resting and letting me do the heavy lifting around here.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He leaned back and closed his eyes.

Kallie went to take her bath.

***

The warm water calmed her frayed nerves and loosened her muscles. Kallie hadn’t taken
a nice, luxurious bath in what felt like ages. She stayed in for nearly an hour,
relishing the peace and calm that she was experiencing.

Finally, everything seemed to be falling into place.

She hadn’t allowed herself to think past the next moment and the next challenge in
a long time. Ever since Hunter’s injury, she’d been dealing with the very real threat
that she could lose him at any moment.

But now he was here with her again, healthy enough to come home.

They were engaged.

She smiled just thinking about it. She wasn’t daydreaming about the big fancy wedding
or her dress or any of that. She was merely allowing the sensation of happiness and
love to settle into her very bones.

Kallie thought back to when she’d first met Nicole and Red. Watching them interact,
she’d felt so much jealousy and sadness at the thought that she might never have what
the two of them shared.

And yet here she was, feeling just as loved and taken care of as Nicole must have
felt. She was in love with the man of her dreams, a man who’d risked everything for
her.

The excitement of it all, the bigness of it all, was too much—it overwhelmed her with
joy and she cried tears of happiness, laughing as she did so. She knew it was silly,
knew she was being emotional and borderline hysterical.

But what was she to do? Just when life had taken on the qualities of her worst fears
and nightmares—everything had suddenly turned around—and now her dreams were coming
true.

Life was amazing. Life was frightening. Life was unpredictable. Nothing to do but
hang on and try and enjoy the ride, she thought.

The water was cooling now. Kallie shivered slightly and stood up, grabbing her robe
and slipping it on, using a towel to quickly dry her hair.

When she emerged from the bathroom, Hunter was no longer on the couch.

She figured he must have gone to the bedroom to sleep. But when she entered the bedroom,
Kallie was shocked to find the room adorned with flowers and candles—like something
out of a movie.

Hunter was sitting in a leather chair in the corner of the room, holding one long-stemmed
rose in his hand.

Kallie put her hands up to her mouth. “Oh my God. Hunter, how did you do this?”

He smiled. “I wish I could say I did this all myself, but I had help. I’m in no
condition to do much else but sit here and wait for you. Thankfully, I knew how much
you enjoy a long bath.”

She walked further into the room. Candles adorned the windowsill, the desk in the
corner, the nightstands. Rose petals covered the floor beneath her. “But when did
you find the time to set this up?”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” He held out the long-stemmed rose to her and
she took it, holding it to her nose and smelling its fragrance.

“It’s beautiful, Hunter.”

“Not nearly as beautiful as you, my dear.”

She smiled at him. It was almost too much. “I love you,” she told him.

His gaze went to her hand, and his eyes narrowed. “You say you love me, but you’ve
cast aside our engagement ring.”

Kallie looked down in surprise. It was true. The tape must have come off in the
bath and she hadn’t noticed. “The water…I’m sorry…” she said, sadly. “I’ll go fish
it out of the tub.” She turned to run to the bathroom and look for it.

“No, no. Wait.” Hunter maneuvered his stiff body from off his chair, sinking slowly
to one knee. He winced in obvious pain. “Don’t go anywhere. Stay right where you
are.”

“Hunter, don’t. Don’t, you’ll hurt yourself.”

He ignored her, settling into a kneeling position. Reaching into the pocket of his
sweatshirt, he brought forth a dark, velvety case and held it aloft, opening it so
that she could see what was inside.

Kallie gasped at the gigantic, sparkling diamond ring staring up at her.

“Maybe this will keep better than the previous version,” Hunter said.

“Oh my God.” She didn’t know what else to say. “There’s no words,” she whispered.
“No words.”

“Just one,” he told her. “One word is all I ask.”

“Yes,” she cried.

Hunter took the ring from its case and slipped it over her finger, where it fit perfectly.
How he’d managed to do all of this, she hadn’t the faintest idea. But she wouldn’t
have been surprised if Detective Phillips had been a big part of it.

“Okay, I might need some help getting up again,” he admitted, gritting his teeth.

Laughing, Kallie helped him to his feet.

She could feel the comforting presence of the engagement ring on her finger.

They embraced and she kissed him passionately.

Hunter took her by the hand and led her to the bed. His eyes were so loving, so full
of warmth. “Did I ever thank you for saving my life?” he said.

“Dr. Walsh saved your life.”

He shook his head. “I know everything, Kallie. I know what you did for me, and how
you fought to make sure I got the care that I needed.” He gestured to the bed. “Sit.”

Kallie did as she was told, sitting down and looking up at him. “I didn’t know what
I was doing. I just tried my best.”