I headed straight for Grady’s office the next morning. I was living off adrenaline. I had barely slept the past couple of days. It showed. Any associates I ran into gave me sideways glances. I was a mess.

I didn’t bother knocking on Grady’s door. He was on the phone when I walked in, but he, too, noticed my pathetic state and ended the phone call immediately.

“Kallie Rae, you look like you need another day at home.”

I lost it. Big, fat tears burst from my eyes.

Big brother came to the rescue. He jumped up and ran toward me, wrapping me up in his arms. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything.”

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific.”

I started with Harrison and the awful way I pushed him out of my life once and for all. Then I told him about the parole hearing. He swore and let me go. “I’ll get a hold of the parole board. Then I’ll call our dear mother and give her a piece of my mind.”

“Give her a piece for me, too.”

He placed his hand on my shoulder. “Kallie, you need to tell Harrison the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God.”

“Some divine help would be useful. But what good would it do? He is who he is. That’s not going to change.”

“How do you know? You never gave him the chance.”

“He hates me now. He thinks I’m some prima donna.”

“Then he’s a fool. Anyone who truly knows you would never believe it.”

“I guess that’s telling. Anyway, let me know what you find out. I have a mountain of work to tackle.”

“Let’s do lunch.”

I nodded and walked away.

I threw myself into my work. It was all I had left. I finished a brief and made some phone calls. I loved arguing with the opposing side’s attorneys. And today, I did so with vehemence. Watch out world.

Around lunch time, my office phone rang. “Ms. Clemmons, Harrison Monroe is here to see you.”

I dropped the receiver, only to pick it up quickly.

“Ms. Clemmons, are you all right? Should I send him back?”

“Yes, Trudy. Thank you.”

Panic overtook me. Why was he here and what was I going to say to him? I stood up and then sat back down. I smoothed out my blouse and skirt. I applied lip gloss—like that would help. Then I paused. There were male voices outside my door. Familiar voices. I crept toward the door.

“Think carefully before going in there. You don’t have any idea what Kallie has been through. I thought you were at least smart enough to know she was scared, that she needed someone to be patient with her. You should know that no one compares to her kindness and thoughtfulness. How dare you accuse her of being some money-grubbing vixen.”

He didn’t actually accuse me of that last part.

“You’re right,” Harrison replied. “I screwed up.”

“You’re damn right, you did. So don’t walk through that door unless you’re willing to do whatever’s best for Kallie, even if that means walking away . . . or giving up your job.”

Why would he say that?

“I would do anything for her. All she had to do was ask.”

I threw open the door.

Both men turned toward me, surprised. My brother’s face was red with anger and there Harrison stood in his blue hero suit. His eyes were much softer than the last time I saw him.

“Kallie.”

“I’ll leave you two alone.” Grady stalked off.

I would have to tell him later how much I loved and appreciated him.

“Can I come in?” Harrison stepped toward me.

I nodded and let him in before shutting the door behind us.

He didn’t waste a moment. He took me in his arms and held me. He stroked and kissed my hair. “I’m sorry I mistook what you were trying to tell me and I’m sorry about your father. Why didn’t you tell me?”

I bathed his shoulder in my tears. “I didn’t want you to try and convince me that we should try in spite of it. I was afraid I would have given in to you; I couldn’t and can’t live in constant fear that you might go to work and never come home.”

“Honey, that’s true with any job. I could die in a car accident.”

“The odds are against you.”

He pulled away and gazed into my eyes. “What do you think the odds were of me changing my mind, had you told me five years ago?”

“Not good.”

He leaned his forehead against mine. “Let me tell you how wrong you are, Kallie Clemmons. I’ve known since that first study group that I had never met your equal. I watched how passionate you were about every aspect of your life. How you helped the others in our group. How you always thought of others before yourself. You had me falling in love and you didn’t even know it. You were oblivious of any and all attempts I made to get you alone, until I spelled it out for you.” He laughed. “I was getting desperate toward the middle of the semester, but I knew you were the woman for me and I had to do whatever it took. And just when I thought I had succeeded, you disappeared. You don’t know how many times I thought about tracking you down at Tulane.”

“I’m sorry, but when you told me you were headed to the police academy, I panicked. And I didn’t want you to change your mind because of me.”

He brushed my lips. “Kallie, I wish you would have given me the chance to tell you that there was no other choice for me but you. I still feel that way. When you came crashing back into my life,” I hiccoughed out a laugh before he continued, “I vowed to do whatever I could to win you over. I’m sorry I’ve done a poor job of it. I got ahead of myself, but I was anxious to call you mine again and I pushed you. I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t apologize. This is all my fault. I should have been more honest with you. Like I’m going to be now. I don’t know how we can be together. I know you say you’re willing to walk away from a job you love, but I don’t see that turning out well for us. And after what my family has been through, I just don’t know if I could ever get over the risks of being with a man in blue.”

He held me tighter. I shook there in his arms.

“Maybe I’ve been going about this all wrong,” he whispered in my ear. “Kallie, I’m not going anywhere, but you need to decide what’s best—what’s right for you and for us. Take all the time you need. I love you. I’m going to do like your brother asked and walk away . . . for now.”

Stunned, I pulled away. Hurt and pleading were written in his eyes. He leaned in and lightly skimmed my lips. “You know how to find me. But I understand if you choose not to.” And without another word, he walked away.

I stood there in shock. I wanted to run away and run after him. Instead, I stood there and let tears stream down my face until Grady walked in and, like always, did his best to take care of me. He wrapped me up and let me soak his suit with my tears. He didn’t say a word and I loved him for it.

I went home early and did some soul searching.

I never wanted to be with anyone more in my life. But I think even he knew that when one partner gives up everything to be with the other, it never works out. It’s a recipe for disaster. That’s how love turns to bitterness and how I end up representing people in divorce proceedings. But how did I reconcile being with a police officer? Even now, the pit in my stomach churned at the thought.

It seemed like an impossible situation.