Unable to hold them in, I felt tears slip down my cheeks. The image was too powerful. “That’s amazing.”

“It was. I’m not too proud to admit I shed a few tears watching them together. It was absolutely incredible. Made me believe that things can last, even after all the cheating and bullshit I had to deal with on a daily basis.”

For someone like Rhett who prized honor and loyalty, the job sounded horrible. I was glad he’d had some cases that restored his faith in humanity. “Did he meet his son?”

Rhett nodded. “I wasn’t there for that reunion, but the client wrote me a letter a couple days later telling me he didn’t get his life back when they released him from captivity. He got his life back when I found his world. I framed it. Reminded me that what I did mattered.”

I snuffled and lifted my cloth napkin to my eyes to dab the tears away. “Wow. You gave him his happily-ever-after. That’s huge.”

Rhett’s smile wobbled, as if recalling what the letter said. “Sometimes it’s the little things that make it all worth it.”

“I’d say that was a big thing.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

As I dealt with my tears, trying to pull myself together after his emotional story, our server arrived with our entrées.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

“Totally fine. Don’t mind me.”

She settled our beautifully plated food in front of us and disappeared just as quickly. Before I picked up my fork, I had to ask the question hovering on my tongue.

“What do you want to do? I mean, after you find out what happened with your dad. Do you want to join the police force again, or keep doing PI work?”

Rhett got quiet and his hand stilled before closing around his fork. I could have kicked myself for the abrupt question and the change in mood it caused.

“Haven’t thought about it. Taking it one day at a time.”

The concept was foreign to me because I planned by weeks, months, quarters, and years. I had a five-year plan and accompanying goals, along with a ten-year plan.

When I didn’t respond, he added, “I’m just a guy trying to make a living after the rug got pulled out from under him. I don’t have grand plans of building an empire like you do.”

I tried to put myself in his shoes and imagine what it would have been like. For as long as I’d known Rhett Hennessy, which was all my life, he’d wanted to be a cop. Nothing more. Nothing less. That was his identity, and he’d lost it all in an instant. How did someone recover from that and forge a new life?

I thought about the company I’d built and how many directions it had taken. If it were all gone tomorrow, I’d be completely adrift. I had to have purpose in my life, and Rhett was the same.

That was when it dawned on me—all these years, I’d kept Rhett Hennessy on a pedestal, untouchable and unattainable. And now, he was real to me. He was a man, flesh and blood with hopes and fears, victories and disappointments. The shift in perspective was groundbreaking and rocked my world. This Rhett, the real Rhett, was better than I’d imagined.

I was self-aware enough to know that this was huge. And what’s more, I had something I could offer him—a willing ear to listen and a creative mind to help him figure out what he could do next.

24

Rhett

I dug into my oysters, wishing I had all the answers. Or hell, at least something that would make me sound like less of a loser when it came to my plans. Ari was smart, successful, and knew exactly what she was doing with her future.

“If you could do anything, no limits, what would you do?”

The question was so completely Ari, it was almost predictable. Even so, it took me off guard. I had no frigging clue what I wanted to do next, and that ate at me. I lowered my fork and thought for a minute.

I was taking this day by day.

“Right now, I want one thing—answers. I need to know the truth about what happened with my father, and I’m not going to let it go until I figure it out.”

Ari nodded sagely, obviously no longer a girl in awe of every word coming out of my mouth. She was the one who had it all together and I was the mess, but there was no judgment on her face. She was unapologetic about knowing what she wanted, methodical and driven in going about achieving it. I’d never realized before how sexy that could be or how much I envied it.

“When you find those answers, will they affect what your future looks like?”

Another logical question I hadn’t taken the time to consider before. I bought myself time to think by taking a bite of my dinner and she did the same, although I could tell she was eagerly awaiting my response.

Would the truth about my dad affect my next steps? If it came out that he was framed and was exonerated, would I want to rejoin the force?

I had my answer before I even finished chewing. I’d never go back to the department. Something in me had changed irrevocably. I couldn’t carry a badge anymore, because it didn’t stand for what I thought it did before. And if I couldn’t believe in it, I didn’t deserve one.

“I’m done being a cop.”

“I wondered. I can’t say I’m completely surprised either. It would be hard to go back now. I couldn’t imagine going to work for anyone else now that I’ve been working for myself for so long.”

When she said that, it occurred to me that she understood something that I hadn’t consciously realized yet. I’d gotten a taste of freedom, and I didn’t have the patience for department politics anymore.

“How did you know I’d feel like that?”

Ari finished chewing a bite and swallowed. “You’re a leader, Rhett, not a foot soldier. I can only imagine that you’d be happier with complete autonomy.”

Her insight hit me like a round to a bulletproof vest, slamming into me with shattering force.

I never thought I’d be this glad to be off the pedestal Ari had put me on because she saw me clearly. Maybe even more clearly than I saw myself.

I grinned at her in awe. “You’re right.”

One side of her mouth tilted up in a quirky smile. “Don’t sound so surprised. I am a genius.” She winked, and it broke a laugh free from my chest.

“Smartass too.”

She shrugged. “Never said I wasn’t.”