21. Chapter Twenty-one

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Nicole said, pacing in front of her coffee table. “Why cover up the fact that Curtis was murdered?”

Eric and Trent watched her, exchanging looks and then sipped their beers almost in sync. They have been watching Nicole pace around her living room for the last fifteen minutes, stressing over the fact that Curtis’ cause of death had been ruled a heart attack earlier that morning, that everyone was ignoring the fact that he had been found with his head torn clean off.

“Waverly's uncle was murdered and Nedley isn't even worried about finding out who did it!” Nicole threw her hands in the air. Her frustration, her anger, her confusion getting the better of her.

Curtis was a decent man and he deserved to have his killer brought to justice. Waverly and Gus deserved that peace of mind, that closure of his killer being locked away.

“Haught, you're too close to this,” Eric said, setting his beer bottle on the coffee table and standing up, moving to stand in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“I’m not!”

“You’re in love with Waverly and it’s clouding your judgement, Nicky,” Trent spoke up from his spot on the couch.

“I am capable of separating my feelings for Waverly from my job.” Nicole shrugged Eric’s hands off her and stepped back, glaring at him then Trent. “So no, this isn’t about my feelings for Waverly, this is about the oath we took when we became Officers of the law, this is about right and wrong, this is about things being swept under the rug in Purgatory all the damn time, this is about getting justice and catching a killer!”

“Alright.” Eric held his hands up in surrender. “We’ll look into his death but you cannot say anything to Waverly or Gus.” He scrubbed his hand over his face, letting out a low sigh. “And if we find his killer we’ll bring it to Nedley and pray that we don’t lose our jobs.”

“Thank you,” Nicole sighed, the tension in her shoulders relaxing.

Relief flooded throughout her entire body, she was going to look into Curtis’ death with or without Eric but she was glad that he was on board, that he was going to help her. Of course, she could run a secret investigation on her own but she really didn’t want to. Eric was her partner and she didn’t want to do this without him.

Though she did hate that him doing this with her meant risking his job, risking his only means of income, his only way of taking care of his family. She'd never forgive herself if he lost his job because of her but someone needed to look into Curtis’ death.

“Hey, don’t you have to pick Waverly up?” Trent asked pointing to the clock hanging above the tv.

“Shit!” Nicole exclaimed, scrambling around the small living room, looking for her truck keys and her wallet. Which she had tossed somewhere in during her rant.

She was supposed to pick Waverly up and then the both of them were going to go over to Gus’ to help her set things up for the funeral tomorrow morning and she was going to be late if she didn’t leave right now. If only she could find her damn keys and wallet.

Trent watched his sister search frantically for her keys for a minute or so, worried about her and whatever was running through her mind at the moment. It wasn’t like her to be so frantic, so worried or, at least she never let it show. Standing up from the couch, Trent walked into the kitchen and picked up her keys and wallet from beside the coffee pot on the counter.

“Nicky,” he called out, jingling the keys to get her attention.

“What’s going on with you?” He asked when she grabbed the keys and her wallet from him with a thankful smile.

“Her whole world is falling apart around her. She just lost her Uncle, she just broke up with the one person who has always been there for her and I just don’t want her to think that she can’t count on me to be there for her when she needs me. I don’t want her to think I’m not going to be there when I said I’d be.” She looked down at her feet, rubbing the back of her neck before looking back up at her brother, her eyes tired and sad. “I don’t want to let her down, like so many others in her life have.”

“Nicky,” Trent sighed with a shake of his head.

She was in so damn deep with Waverly that he was afraid that she was going to get hurt. Yeah, he knew that Waverly had feelings for his sister but that didn’t mean she was going to act on them, didn’t mean they were going to end up together.

And Trent, he was so damn afraid that Nicole was going to completely give herself over to Waverly, do everything in her power to make Waverly happy, to protect Waverly and end up destroying herself in the process.

Waverly didn’t seem like the type to use people, to just hurt the people that cared about them but grief made people do stupid things, hurtful things.

“You gotta take a step back Nicky, and use that beautiful brain of yours.” He flicked her forehead lightly. “Think of yourself and not just Waverly.”

“She needs me.”

“Yeah but you also need to take care of yourself, I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“She won’t hurt me,” Nicole said, taking a step back from him and turning towards the door.

“You don’t know that for sure.” He didn’t want to think the worst would happen, he didn’t want to think that Waverly would hurt Nicole but he needed, he wanted Nicole to be prepared incase that were to happen.

“We’ll talk about this later, okay?” Nicole called over her shoulder already heading out the front door without an answer.

“Do you mind if I look over these?” Trent asked gesturing to the files on the coffee table as he walked back into the living room and sat back down on the couch.

He wasn’t a cop but he was raised by a family of cops, so he figured he may be of some help. Fresh eyes couldn’t hurt anything, that is if Eric is okay with it.

Eric ran his fingers through his blonde hair. “Why not? I’m already risking my job.”

“She’d do this with or without you,” Trent said, picking up the file on top of the large stack, flipping through it. “She gets it honest, our Grandpa, he never gave up on a case, never backed down, chased every lead, ran down every dead end and Nicky, she just wants to be as good as him, make him proud but, she also wants to help people and uphold the law.”

“I know she wants to help people, I know she wants to uphold the law and do her job but, she is letting her feelings for Waverly get in the way and she can’t see that. She can’t do her job if her feelings are getting in the way.” Eric paced the living room much like Nicole had been doing moments ago.

He wanted to find Curtis’ killer just as much as Nicole but unlike Nicole, he could see things clearly, he could see that going behind the Sheriff's back was going to be tricky, was going to cost them their jobs if they were caught, or they were wrong.

“For what it’s worth, it means a lot to her that you’re willing to do this with her.”

Nicole barely stopped the truck before she was slamming it into park and hoping out, rushing inside Shorty’s, looking around the saloon frantically for Waverly.

“Slow down there Haught,” Shorty said from behind the bar. “She’s still upstairs.”

Nicole nodded her thanks and walked slowly and calmly towards the stairs, very aware of the eyes on her.

Not that she blamed people for staring. Hell if someone had burst through the door like she had a second ago, she be staring as well.

By now word had spread all over town that Curtis had passed and that Waverly had broken up with Champ. Half the town speculated that Waverly broke up with Champ because she was caught up in her grief and the other half blamed it on a certain redheaded officer that Waverly spend most of her time with.

Part of Nicole worried that they were right, that Waverly only broke up with Champ so soon because she was grieving. Sure, Waverly had said that she was going to break up with him but if she had broken up with him before she was ready it would cause a lot of problems and confusion.

And the part of her that was in love with Waverly hoped that she had broken up with Champ because of her, because she had feelings for her, because she wanted to be with her and she had to continuously push that part of her down because Waverly needed a friend right now, not someone who was madly in love with her.

Nicole knocked on Waverly’s apartment door lightly. “Waves, it’s Nicky.”

There was music coming from the other side of the door, sad, depressing music.

“Waverly, open up.” Nicole knocked harder when there was no answer. “Please.”

When there was still no answer, Nicole grasped the doorknob, opening the door as her eyes darted around the room for Waverly and settling on the curled up ball in the middle of the full size bed.

Shutting the door quietly behind her, Nicole took her phone out and sent a quick text to Gus, letting her know that they’d be late.

She moved towards the bed, kicking her shoes off as she went then crawled into the bed behind Waverly, wrapping an arm around the sleeping woman and pulling her closer until they were spooning.

She leaned up on her elbow, looking down at Waverly and taking in the dried tear marks on her face, her red, puffy eyes, and cute little red nose, wisps of hair sticking to her forehead and cheek. Taking in how beautiful Waverly was even though she had cried herself to sleep.

“You’re gonna be okay,” Nicole whispered, brushing the hair from Waverly’s forehead. “I’ll be here every step of the way, however you need me.”

She ran her fingers gently through the tangled mess that was Waverly’s hair, lightly massaging her scalp as she went, just watching her sleep peacefully. At least she hoped Waverly was sleeping peacefully.

She remember after her grandma passed away, she couldn’t sleep for days. Every time she closed her eyes all she saw was her grandma gasping for breath. She hoped and pray that something like that wasn’t happening with Waverly.

Nicole leaned in and kissed Waverly’s temple lightly, whispering against her soft skin. “I’m here.”

Those weren’t the words she wanted to say, weren’t the words on the lip of her tongue but they would have to do for now.

It wasn’t the time to tell Waverly how she felt. Waverly had just lost her Uncle, just broke up with the person she had been with for years. Waverly needed to grieve, needed to learn how to be by herself before jumping into something, before being bombarded with Nicole’s confession.

Nicole would give her the time, would wait a lifetime and longer for Waverly if she had to, even though it killed her inside. Even though the words ‘I love you’ threatening to come spilling out at least once a day.

She wanted to be selfish, wanted to just tell Waverly how she felt, consequences be damned but that wasn’t who she was. It wasn’t who she was raised to be and as much as she wanted to tell Waverly, she couldn’t, wouldn’t put that pressure on her right now.

Sighing, Nicole rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, eyes tracing the random patterns there.

“Nicole?” Waverly mumbled sleepily, turning to face the redhead with her eyes still closed.

“I’m here,” Nicole whispered, running her hand up and down Waverly’s arm. “You can go back to sleep.”

“Mmkay,” Waverly murmured into Nicole’s chest as she snuggled into the other woman’s side, slinging her leg over Nicole’s and grasping her t-shirt. “I sleep better with you here.”

Nicole ran her fingers up and down Waverly’s back, tracing random patterns along the soft skin exposed from where her shirt had ridden up. She closed her eyes, content to fall asleep here with Waverly.

Truth was one night without Waverly next to her in bed and she had slept like shit. In those few short days she had come accustomed to having Waverly cuddling into her at night, to the feel of her warm skin pressed against her own, to the sounds of her snoring away softly, to Waverly invading every one of her senses.

“Nicky?” Waverly whispered, voice thick with sleep as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

“Hmm?” Nicole peeked one eye open, looking down at Waverly even though she couldn’t see her face.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being here for me and Gus, for taking care of me, for taking me to see the sunrise this morning, for being you,” Waverly said softly, fingers curling from Nicole's shirt and running along her side.

“You don’t have to thank me Waverly.”

Waverly sat up, crossing her legs and looking down at Nicole. She was beautiful like this, in a simple plain white t-shirt that was tight in all the right places, jeans that hugged her hips, the messy bun she wore that always had a few hairs escaping and getting in her eyes.

She always found Nicole to be breathtaking when she wasn’t trying to be, when she dressed simply, dressed for comfort and nothing else.

It was times like this when she wanted to risk everything, put everything on the line and just kiss Nicole.

“I do,” Waverly whispered, brushing the hair out of Nicole’s eyes. “Without you, I wouldn’t get through this.”

“You’re strong Waves, I have no doubt that you could get through this on your own.”

“I wouldn’t want to.” Her fingers ghosted along Nicole’s jaw. “I spent most of my life alone, getting through things on my own, I don’t want to do this alone.”

Even when she was with Champ, if she was going through something, dealing with something, she was doing it alone, going through it alone. See Champ’s idea of dealing with any problem was to have sex and that didn’t work for her, so it was just easier to go through things alone.

But now, she had Nicole in her life. Nicole, who was always there, always willing to help and Waverly couldn’t imagine going through things alone anymore.

“Then you won’t have to, I’ll be here,” Nicole promised. “Every step of the way, whatever you need, I’m here.”

“Whatever I need?” Waverly whispered, her fingers caressing Nicole’s jaw. Mesmerized by the way Nicole’s lips parted and a breathless sigh escaped. Captivated by the way one of Nicole’s hands found her hip, gripping it gently as her thumb moved back forth slowly, a warmth spreading throughout her body.

“Whatever you need.” Nicole repeated, eyes closed and leaning into her touch, her thumb pressing into Waverly’s side more firmly, her blunt nails digging into Waverly’s hip as Waverly’s fingers trailed down her neck and along her collarbone.

“Waverly,” Nicole moaned breathlessly as fingers dipped under the neckline of her shirt. She should stop this, it was just going to complicate things but if this was what Waverly needed, she’d give herself over, allow Waverly to take whatever she wanted, whatever she needed from her.

Waverly was intoxicated by the way Nicole moaned her name, intoxicated by the way Nicole seemed give herself over to her, allow her to do whatever she wanted, intoxicated by the way Nicole’s breathing picked up, intoxicated by how soft Nicole’s skin was, how smooth.

Waverly leaned over Nicole, pressing their foreheads together. One of Nicole’s hands tangled itself in Waverly’s hair, the other regripping Waverly’s hip and pulling her closer until she was practically laying on top of her.

All of Nicole’s rational thoughts, all the reason she had for waiting to kiss Waverly, for not telling her how she felt were gone. The only thing on her mind was connecting their lips, kissing Waverly for the first time, tasting her.

Their noses brushed together as they moved closer. Their lips just centimeters away, their breath mingling together.

And then, right as their lips grazed, a phone going off caused them to jump, hitting their foreheads together with a loud crack.

“Dammit,” Waverly rolled off of Nicole, cradling her head in her hands as Nicole scrambled off the bed to retrieve her ringing phone.

“Hello?” Nicole answered the phone, voice thick. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her head against the cool wall, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.

She fucked up. She shouldn’t have let things get that far. She shouldn’t have let what she was feeling over rule her head. She should have stopped Waverly the second her hands moved down her neck.

She didn’t want things between them to happen like that, not when Waverly is grieving and just broke up with Champ. Their first kiss should be special. It shouldn’t be in a bed that Waverly has shared with Champ for years.

Waverly deserved better than that. She deserved better than that.

“Is Waverly okay?” Gus asked on the other end of the line.

“Yeah, she was sleeping but now she’s awake so, we’re gonna pick up some food and then we’ll be on our way.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yup,” Nicole nodded her head even though Gus couldn’t see. “We’ll be there in like 45 minutes.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, see you soon.” Nicole hung up the phone with a sigh.

She could feel Waverly’s eyes on her, watching her every move but she couldn’t turn around and face her at the moment. She needed to get out of there, she needed air.

“I’ll be in the truck, just come down when you’re ready.”

Nicole grabbed her shoes and hauled ass out of the room, ignoring Waverly calling after her. She just needed a moment to clear her head, just one moment. 

Maybe Trent was right. Maybe she needed to step back, clear her head and start taking care of herself and not just Waverly. Maybe she needed to prepare herself for getting her heart broken.

The ride to Gus’ was filled with awkward silence and an uneasiness she has never felt around Nicole before. For the first time since they met, Waverly felt uncomfortable around Nicole and it was entirely her fault. Nicole barely said two words that didn’t have to do with what they were picking up for dinner, hell she could barely look at her for more than a few seconds.

She had pushed things too far, pushed Nicole too far. She allowed her emotions, allowed her grief, allowed that freeing feeling she felt after breaking up with Champ to cloud her head. She took advantage of Nicole’s willingness to help her, be there for her. She took advantage of Nicole and her kind, caring nature.

She messed things up between them, ruined the relationship they had built, screwed up that almost instantaneous connection they had. She had ruined the best thing in her life with an almost kiss.

Nicole was one of the few good things in her life. She brought a light into Waverly's life that she hadn't known she was missing. Nicole had seen through all the fake smiles and waves. Nicole had broken through every one of Waverly's walls and settled somewhere deep in her chest. Nicole saw her for who she really was and not for who she pretended to be.

Nicole Haught was everything, everything to her and she may have just ruined everything.

“Nicole,” Waverly whispered into the cab of the truck, turning in her seat to face Nicole, whose grip tightened on the steering wheel. The leather underneath Nicole’s white knuckles making a cracking sound as her grip continued to tight.

“Look at me, please .” She was begging, she knew it but honestly, she could care less. She’d beg til she was blue in the face if it meant that Nicole would look at her, talk to her.

She had to make this right, fix what she broke between them. She just wished she knew how.

After a deep sigh, Nicole looked over at her with a battle raging behind those big brown eyes that Waverly loved so much, that Waverly found it hard to tear her eyes away from at times but now, she could hardly meet Nicole’s gaze.

“I’m sorry,” Waverly whispered, looking down at her hands. She couldn’t bare to watch the different emotions swirling in Nicole’s eyes. “I don’t know what I was thinking earlier, actually I wasn’t thinking at all and I didn’t mean to upset you, or make you uncomfortable, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Nicole looked back out the windshield, out to the house before them, taking a deep breath then looking over at Waverly again.

Her heart ached for Waverly and every single thing she was going through at the moment and she didn’t want to add anything else on top of that but she needed to know where she stood, she needed to what Waverly wanted from her.

She could be just a friend to Waverly and she would if that’s what Waverly wanted but she needed to know if she should get over her feelings, if she needed to give up all hope of ever being with Waverly.

“What do you want from me?” Nicole asked, voice so low Waverly barely heard her. “What is it that you want from me Waverly?”

Waverly opened her mouth, ready to tell Nicole that she just wanted her, that she loved her, that she wanted nothing more than what Nicole would give her but of course, that was when Gus came out the house calling out to them, the worry in her tone clear as day.

“We should get in there.” Nicole unbuckled her seat-belt, grabbed the two boxes of pizza from in between them and stepped out of the truck.

“Nicole,” Waverly followed Nicole out of the truck, trailing after the redhead as she moved up the walkway towards the house with long, quick strides. “Will you just wait a minute? Please?”

Nicole turned around so abruptly that Waverly nearly slammed into her. “I can’t do this right now, I can’t help your Aunt if we do this right now.” If you break my heart.

“Okay,” Waverly said softly, reaching for Nicole’s free hand, squeezing it gently. “Later, please?”

Nicole’s gaze drifted down to their joined hands before turning back towards the house, to Gus who was watching them from the porch. “Yeah, sure Waverly, whatever you want.”

“No, not what I want.” Waverly stopped Nicole from walking away by tugging on her hand, spinning her around to face her once more. “What do you want? It shouldn’t just be all about what I want, it’s selfish and unfair to you.”

Nicole closed her eyes and sighed. How was she supposed to keep Waverly at arm’s length when she looked up at her with those sad, puppy eyes? When Waverly didn’t use the fact that she’d do anything for her against her, didn’t use it to get her way? When Waverly was everything to her and it was so hard to say no to her, to not give in to her every demand?

As much as she wanted to give Waverly what she wanted, she knew she needed to take this chance and take care of herself, put herself before Waverly just this once. Protect her heart instead of Waverly. “Maybe.”

She had to look away from the disappointment in Waverly’s eyes, otherwise she’d just give in to her and then where would she be?

Waverly dropped Nicole’s hand with a small nodded and strode past her, up the porch steps to Gus.

“Hey Gus,” Waverly smiled at her Aunt, giving her a quick hug. “We brought pizza.”

“Pineapple pizza,” Nicole said, opening up the top pizza box as she stepped up next to the two women. “Waverly mention one night that Curtis used to bring you pineapple pizza even though he hated it.”

“That’s because pineapple does not belong on pizza,” Waverly chimed in, smiling over at Nicole, who gave her a tiny smile in return, one that didn’t meet her eyes.

“Pineapple and pizza belong together, much like Curtis and his tomatoes, they’re soulmates kiddo.” Gus patted Waverly’s cheek with affection and led them inside the house.

“You’re just jealous cause you haven’t found your soulmate yet,” Nicole teased with a smirk, bumping her hip into Waverly’s as they made their way through the house towards the kitchen.

It amazed Waverly how easily Nicole was able to pretend that nothing was wrong, that nothing was bothering her, that two minutes ago she wasn’t avoiding looking at her, talking to her. It reminded Waverly a lot of herself and her ability to hide everything she was feeling. It reminded Waverly of how similar they were.

“Get some plates down please?” Gus asked as she made her way to the fridge to pull out a bottle of wine. She wasn’t much of a wine drinker but Curtis had always enjoyed a glass of wine with his pizza and in his memory, she would too.

She set the bottle of wine on the island and took a seat on one of the stools, watching the two interact, watching them move around the kitchen getting wine glasses and plates out, setting the island in the middle of the kitchen up just for the three of them as if they had been doing it their whole life, Gus thought that maybe Waverly had found her soulmate and she just didn’t know it yet.

As far as Gus was concerned, Waverly couldn’t do any better than Nicole Haught for a soulmate.

They ate dinner pretty quickly, with Nicole cracking joke after joke to try and chase away the sadness shining in Gus’ eyes. Waverly admired how good with people Nicole was, how effortless it was for her to cheer someone up, to make them laugh, to make them forget just for a moment why they were sad in the first place.

Now, Waverly and Gus were sitting in the living room after Nicole had shooed them away so she could clean up with the kitchen.

“Is she okay?” Gus asked as both she and Waverly watched Nicole scrub roughly at the already clean counter.  

Nicole had been scrubbing at the same spot for the past few minutes, kinda just staring straight ahead, not paying any attention to what she’s actually doing.

Waverly was worried and upset with herself knowing that she was the reason Nicole was acting this way, the reason Nicole was upset.

“I did something stupid and it upset and hurt her.”

“The woman practically worships the ground you walk on Waverly,” Gus said, taking a sip of her iced tea. “What could you have done that was so bad?”

“I can’t tell you.” Waverly whispered, avoiding her Aunt’s eyes. How was she supposed to tell her that she screwed things up by trying to kiss Nicole?

“Well you need to fix it,” Gus told her sternly, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Now is not the time you want to lose the people that care about you.”

It was quiet for a few moments, with Gus still watching Nicole and Waverly trying to gather her thoughts and trying to decide if she was going to say anything else to her Aunt.

Sure her Uncle had told her that Gus would accept her no matter what but that fear of Gus being disgusted, of Gus not accepting her, of Gus being disappointed in her was still there.

Deciding to just bite the bullet and tell her Aunt, Waverly turn fully in the chair she was sitting in to face her Aunt, she kept her voice low though she’s sure Nicole wouldn’t hear anything they were saying even if they were standing right next to her. “She wants to know what I want from her.”

“And what do you want from her?”

“I just want her.”

“So tell her that,” Gus said simply as if it were that easy.

And maybe it was, maybe she was making it more complicated than it really was. Maybe it really was just as simple as saying the words ‘I love you’ to Nicole.

But could she actually do it? Could she actually look Nicole in the eyes and find the courage to say those three words? Could she actually be brazen enough to tell Nicole that she was so damn in love with her that it hurt sometimes?

And even if she could find the courage, was now the right time to tell her? What if Nicole didn’t believe her because she thought it was Waverly’s grief talking? What if Nicole didn’t feel the same? What if it ruined their relationship beyond repair?  

“I don’t think now is really the time for that, Curtis just died, I just broke up with Champ.”

“Your Uncle wouldn’t want this to stop you from being happy, he’d want you to go after the things you want in life, the person you want, you’ve always been an honest kid Waverly, don’t stop now.”

Waverly gave her a small nod, deciding to just throw caution to the wind and tell Nicole how she felt when they talked later.

Of course they never did talk later. Nicole avoided Waverly like the plague for the next day, save for a text or two asking if she was okay.  

She didn’t want to ignore Waverly, or avoid her at all and she felt horrible for doing it but, she just needed time to think, to sort through her thoughts and what she was feeling without Waverly clouding her judgement. She couldn’t think straight around Waverly.

Avoiding Waverly and Gus, Shorty and Trent, Eric and anyone else who knew enough about her feelings for Waverly to ask why she was staying clear, was how she ended up on a patrol through town with Nedley.

Nedley was too preoccupied with a recent death of some young girl that had gotten off a bus on the main stretch of road leading into town and some government agency that would be taking over half the station and more than half of their cases, to ask why Nicole wanted to go on patrol with him and for that, Nicole was thankful.  

The town was quiet for the most part. Most people had left Curtis’ funeral by now and headed straight to Shorty’s have a drink in Curtis’ memory, when in reality most of them just wanted an excuse to drink in the middle of the day.

She hated that she hadn’t gone to the funeral for Waverly, with Waverly. She hated that she wasn’t there for Waverly when she needed her. A part of her hated that she put herself before Waverly. She hated that she felt like she let Waverly down but she knew that if she had went she would have put her needs, her feelings on the back burner.

Nicole was pulled from her thoughts when Nedley pulled the car over next to the train tracks. He shut the engine off and got out, walking towards a woman with long brunette hair with the slightest hint of curls, wearing a leather jacket with ugly ass fringe on the arms and blue jeans encasing a top shelf ass.

Sighing, Nicole got out of the car as well, walking over to the pair, not that they paid her any mind they were too busy arguing with one another.

Nicole let her eyes wander over the brunette, taking in her striking blue eyes that had a haunted look to them, the dimple on her cheek when she smirked at Nedley, a jawline to die for and a snarky attitude to top it all off. She was beautiful, no doubt and Nicole could probably spend all day looking at her but the last thing she needed in her life was another beautiful woman to complicate things.

Suppressing another sigh, Nicole looked away from the woman and towards Shorty’s, catching sight of Waverly helping old Mrs. Johnson cross the street. Even from here, she could tell that the wide smile on Waverly’s face was fake and she ached to go over there and make some corny joke to get a real smile out of her.

“Why’d you even come back Wynonna?”

Wynonna? Wynonna Earp? Nicole turned to look back at the pair so fast, she swore she was going give herself whiplash.

Did Waverly know that her sister was back in town? Was Wynonna just here for the funeral? Or was she back for good? How did Waverly feel about her being back? Was she happy? Was she upset that it took their Uncle dying for Wynonna to finally show up?

Nicole had a million and one questions and when she opened her mouth to voice some of them, Nedley started talking again.

“Haven’t the people who love you suffered enough?” Nedley asked, sounding tired as if they have had this conversation a thousand times and for all Nicole knows they have.

She knew that Wynonna wasn’t well liked in Purgatory, or at all really. People around town called her crazy, cursed, a magnet for trouble and most associated Waverly with Wynonna’s actions. She only knew gossip of Wynonna, Waverly didn’t talk about her much and Nicole didn’t push. She figured Waverly would tell her in her own time, when she was ready.

“Probably,” Wynonna said, turning around and walking towards Shorty’s but not before flipping Nedley off.

Nicole watched Wynonna stalk off towards Shorty’s, her eyes drifting down to her ass once more. She was only human after all and Wynonna’s ass was a sight to behold.

“With all due respect Sir, I think that was completely uncalled for, Waverly just lost her Uncle, she really needs her sister right now.”

She didn’t know the history between Nedley and Wynonna but him trying to run her off just didn’t sit right with her.

“With all due respect Haught, you don’t know the pain and suffering Wynonna has put Waverly and Gus through, they’re better off without her.”

His tone was sharp and he almost sounded disappointed in her but she wasn’t going to back down. He should be a little more compassionate to someone who just lost their Uncle.

“Maybe I don’t know the pain she has caused them but I do know how much her being gone has hurt Waverly,” Nicole said as they walked back towards the car. “But, if you’re worried about her being in town, I’ll keep an eye on her, make sure she stays out of trouble.”

“You wanna be responsible for Wynonna Earp? Fine, good luck with that Haught.” With that Nedley got back into his car and drove off, leaving Nicole to walk back to the station.

Maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut.

It wasn’t till the next day that Nicole finally gave up on avoiding Waverly. It hadn’t actually helped any. Every waking moment her thoughts revolved around Waverly Earp and she was miserable not seeing her or talking to her.

After finding out about some bar fight that took place at Shorty’s the night before, Nicole all but ran to the saloon to check on Waverly, even though the report Eric had filled out clearly stated that nobody, not even Waverly had been harmed.

Nicole stood in the doorway of the saloon, just watching Waverly wipe down the beer taps and humming along to whatever sound was playing on the jukebox in the corner.

She could watch Waverly for hours, doing something as simple as cleaning the bar and never get bored, never get tired of looking at her. Hell, she could watch Waverly perform the most mundane task and be content.

“Hey,” Nicole called out softly after a few minutes of Waverly being completely unaware of her presence.

Waverly jumped just the tiniest bit at the sound of her voice, turning to glare at her. “You’ve got to stop doing that, Nicole.”

“Sorry.” Nicole gave her a sheepish grin and rubbed at the back of her neck.

“Nedley said there was a fight last night.” She stepped farther into the saloon, gripping the brim of her stetson tightly. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Oh now you care.” Waverly threw the rag she had been using down on the bartop then folded her arms across her chest, that glare still directed at Nicole. “You just disappeared on me, I’d expect something like that from Champ but not you.”

Waverly had every right to be mad at her but that comparison to Champ was like a punch to the gut.

“I’m sorry.” Nicole stepped up the bar, setting her stetson down and reaching her hand out for Waverly’s. “I should have been here for you.”

Nicole swept her gaze over Waverly, making sure she was okay and unharmed when she saw looked like a bruise on her neck. Without another word, Nicole moved around the other side of the bar, stopping in front of Waverly.

She grasped Waverly’s chin with her forefinger and thumb, tilting her head up to expose her neck fully to the dim light of the saloon. A blueish, purple bruise went across Waverly’s neck in an almost perfect line.

She traced her thumb across the bruise as gently as possible, causing Waverly to inhale sharply but not pull away.

“Who did this?” She asked through clenched teeth, her eyes boring into Waverly’s.

There was a fire burning in Nicole’s eyes and anger there that Waverly had never seen before. And if she was being perfectly honest, she was a bite scared. Nicole looked ready to murder someone.  

She had meant to put some kind of concealer on the bruises this morning but had decided to wait up she was done cleaning the bar up and had showered. Now she wished she had taken the time and actually done it.

How was she going to explain to Nicole how she had gotten the bruises in the first place? It wasn’t like she could just tell her about the revenants and the Earp curse. Or that she had been hung yesterday in attempt to trade her life for a gun that could kill demons.

Nicole would think she had lost her mind and she was sure that Deputy Marshal Dolls would have her tried for treason.

“Who did this to you?” Nicole asked again, this time her voice was softer but that fire in her eyes was still burning. Her thumb still stroking Waverly’s neck softly. “I swear to God, I’ll kill whoever laid a hand on you.”

Waverly panicked. She didn’t know how to explain the bruises without putting Nicole’s life in danger, so she did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed a hold of Nicole’s uniform shirt and tugged her down until their lips met in a soft kiss.