Page 82 of No Regrets

“Will she?” Calmer now, he ran his hands through his hair. “What if it drives us further apart?”

“Yesterday, you said she’s the only woman for you. So, if you believe that, then you make her see it. One step at a time. One day at a time. Actions speak louder than words, my friend. But you need to actually have a conversation. Yesterday was bad timing, but don’t leave it too long.”

Dex picked up the cutters, and Ryan climbed back up the ladder. After a few minutes of silence, Dex again threw down the cutters and leaned against the railing.

“Do you think I should ask her about what happened in Daram?”

“Jeez, Dex. How the fuck should I know? Who knows what’s right or wrong here?” Ryan stopped what he was doing and looked sympathetically at Dex. “If it were me. I guess I’d offer to be there to talk to if she needs it. Be willing to listen, but don’t push her to talk about it. I’m sure she’s been talking about it a lot.” Ryan held out his hand. “Pass me that screwdriver.”

Dex handed it to him. “Since when did you start giving such good relationship advice?” he muttered.

Ryan grinned. “I have hidden talents.”

Dex grunted. “I really hurt her. I hate that I caused that, after everything she’s been through.”

“It couldn’t have been easy coming to the service. Seeing you, after seeing you with... That took courage. She’s stronger than any of us probably give her credit for.”

They finished up securing the house, then went to grab a bite to eat. Ryan didn’t say any more about Kelly. Instead, they went over possibilities of who might have left the envelope. No one obvious was coming to mind.

“Maybe they got the wrong house?”

Dex arched his eyebrows.

“Yeah, OK, unlikely.” Ryan signaled for the check.

“We’ll run prints tomorrow and tell the team. I’ll give Sam a heads up too. Nothing much more we can do right now.” Dex said.

The waitress placed the bill on the table. Ryan reached for it, but Dex snatched it out of his hand.

“Uh uh. This is on me. Not only for all the help with Pops, and helping me today, but also the unsolicited relationship advice.” He grinned at him.

Ryan chuckled. “Anytime.”

Dex placed some bills on the table, and they headed out.

“You going home?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah.”

“Want company? Happy to have a drink with you for your old man.”

“No. I’m good. But thanks. I’ll see you at HQ tomorrow.”

“No problem. See you at The Farm.”

“The Farm?”

“It needs a nickname, don’t you think? The Farm, I like it. It is like my second home.”

“Your first home being an actual farm.”

“Exactly. The Farm. Yep, I’m officially naming it The Farm. Way better than HQ.”

Dex rolled his eyes as he watched Ryan leave. Then he got into his truck and drove the short distance home. As he passed Kelly’s house, he glanced over. The porch light was on, and she was sitting on the swing chair outside. It looked like she might be reading, the light illuminating her face. She’d piled her hair on top of her head in one of those messy buns, little tendrils falling around her face. He drove on and pulled into his own drive, almost hitting the paper boy. He waved at him in apology. Opening his front door, he paused. This was ridiculous. Not giving himself a chance to change his mind, he closed the door and walked back down the steps.

Kelly looked up as he got close, surprise on her face. She wore yoga pants and a t-shirt. Wait. One of his old Navy t-shirts. His heart lurched. He liked the idea of that. A lot. Her feet were curled under her, and her ereader was perched on her lap illuminating her face. She held a glass of wine. She looked much more relaxed than yesterday.

“Hey.” He stopped at the bottom of the steps.