As Jianjun watched Kira get ready for bed, he couldn’t believe she was with him. If it took a bullet to get her there, he was glad to take it. He had come to think of it as Cupid’s bullet, but he didn’t need to be shot with it to know how he felt.
He had been released from the hospital that morning, and Jake Sullivan had invited them to stay at his house. Well, not exactly Jake. His lady friend, Charlotte Reed, after learning all that had happened, flew “home” to Salmon. She wanted to be there for Deputy Grayson’s funeral, but also to help Jake in any way she could. Jianjun had heard all about her, though he had never met her face-to-face.
She had suggested Jianjun move into their guest room, with Kira staying there as well. But much to Jianjun’s relief, Kira had already found accommodations in a lodge on a rise overlooking the town. The suite had a separate sitting room and a private deck. Jianjun happily joined her there to recuperate.
They spent a lot of time catching up on the past year. He learned that although Kira had lost her job as an FBI profiler, she was once again working as a psychiatrist in private practice. She had been asked to join an established team of doctors, and her business had quickly picked up. It included a number of former patients who were glad she was practicing again.
She basically liked her work, although several patients thought their lives were a lot tougher than they really were. She was often tempted to ask them if they wanted to hear about real problems and real life-threatening situations. If so, the stories she could tell!
But she didn’t.
He laughed with her. It felt good to laugh, even to smile. He done little of either the past year. Sometimes when he was alone he’d shut his eyes and relive the complete elation he felt when she walked into his room in the Salmon hospital.
“Kira,” was all he could say.
She gave him a shy smile. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m here. When Michael told me you were hurt …”
He wanted to jump for joy, despite the tubes, pain-pills, and everything else that tied him to the hospital bed. Instead, he calmly said, “He shouldn’t have bothered you.”
“Yes, Jianjun. He should have.”
His heart filled his throat and he had to wait a moment before he could speak. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You’re probably thinking that I still can’t pronounce your name correctly.” Her eyes grew shiny and moist.
His mind raced with a thousand things to say to her—and another thousand that he should never say. “I like the way you say it.”
She drew in her breath. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better … since about a minute ago. The doctors have a good prognosis, fortunately.”
She pulled the chair to his side and placed her hand atop his as he explained briefly about the attack.
“That damned pearl,” she said. She was one of the people with Michael as they had faced down the demons connected to the pearl. “I had hoped we would never hear anything more about it.”
“All of us hoped that.”
She took a deep breath. “Is your wife here yet?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t even tell her about this. And I doubt Michael did either.”
“Why not?”
“She wouldn’t have cared. Not really.”
Kira’s lips tightened. “I see.”
“What about you?” he asked. “Are you seeing someone? Someone special, perhaps?”
“I’m afraid not.” Her expression was wry. “After you’ve battled crazed Chinese demons side-by-side with someone, everyone else you meet seems a bit dull.”
He beamed and both his hands wrapped around hers. “God, Kira. I can’t believe you’re here. I turned away from you once, and a bad situation has only become worse. I don’t know how you feel about me. I don’t know how any of this will turn out. But, if you’re willing, I want to be with you. Only you.”
She flashed him a broad smile. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
Every night in the hospital he had relived that scene before he fell asleep. Now, in the lodge overlooking Salmon City, she got into bed beside him and kissed him. In his drugged state, with medicine and bandages, that was as much as he could handle. But he didn’t think he’d ever gone to sleep with a broader smile on his face.