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“Thanks for coming to my rescue. I should’ve known all three of you would be here, not just Gray.”
He smiled. “Have we ever let you down?”
Chapter Thirty-Four
The loamy scent of wet forest earth rose up to greet him as Malachi jogged to Kevin’s truck. His friend opened the door, but they waited to speak until the wind died down and the sounds of the chopper faded as it lifted away with Moretti on board.
“From what I heard over the radio, it looks like you got yourself into quite a mess.”
“No doubt about it.” Malachi shook the other man’s hand. “Look, I know I don’t always play well with others.”
Kevin crossed his arms over his chest. “You won’t get an argument from me.”
“I’m trying to apologize for being an idiot and not telling you everything from the start. About my biological parents.”
“Well, stop trying and just say you’re sorry already.” Kevin’s grin proved he was enjoying the moment of humility a little too much for Malachi’s comfort.
“Sorry.” Malachi picked up a leaf and twirled it between his thumb and forefinger.
“Water under the bridge. You ready to get out of here? Doesn’t look like your personal vehicle fared too well.”
“Wait. What are you talking about?”
Kevin gestured down the logging road. “Hit a tree about a quarter of a mile down.”
“How did it even get here?” He scratched his chin.
Becky cleared her throat behind him, so he faced her. She avoided eye contact as she spoke in a mousy voice. “I kind of stole it.”
“You what?” He couldn’t keep the tension out of his voice. Letting the woman stay in his house had been a mistake. He’d known it from the start.
“I needed to warn the other members of Jade that Samantha called the authorities. I thought about what happened back in West Virginia when your father was arrested. It looked like history was going to repeat itself.”
“That situation was completely different. This time they were only after Reece. He was the only person they were after.”
She frowned, and her jaw took on a hard set to it. “It was a chance I couldn’t take.”
Kevin patted his shoulder, grounding him in the moment. Getting worked up over a truck after the morning they’d just had was beyond ridiculous. He lifted a prayer for serenity, and shook his head before rubbing his forehead and exhaling.
“Don’t worry about the truck. It’s insured.” His remaining agitation was apparent from his tone, but that couldn’t be helped. He turned back to Kevin. “Can you get Becky to wherever the troopers are doing their interviews? I want to check on Cate before I leave here. And I’ll have to see if my truck is drivable.”
“Yeah. Sure thing.” Kevin saluted and led Malachi’s mother away. As annoying as the truck thing was, Rebecca’s behavior that morning had been motherly. She’d literally put herself in front of a loaded gun. That willingness to sacrifice her own life for his demonstrated her love for him, despite their tumultuous past. His foster parents would always be his family, but maybe he could find room in his life for Becky, too. He wouldn’t be calling her ‘mom’ anytime soon, but he didn’t need to shut her out completely.
As he headed back toward the fray, his eyes locked with Cate’s, and she gave him a slow smile.
Cate’s stomach fluttered as Malachi’s gaze locked on her and his steps brought him closer. Her own feet moved of their own volition, meeting him in the middle. Catching her in a crushing hug, he tucked her close to him, and she buried her face in his neck. “I can’t breathe.”
“Sorry.” He loosened his grip. “Please never put me through that again. If you had been shot—I don’t even want to think about it.”
“I wasn’t, so let’s not go there.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and played with the curled edges of his damp hair. It was smooth and soft under her fingertips. She kissed his neck and trailed more kisses across the rough texture of his bearded chin until she reached his lips.
He kissed her back with an abandon she hadn’t known he possessed. She was certain he’d forgotten where they were by the ragged edge to his breath as it mingled with hers. That is until her brother cleared his throat behind them. Malachi locked eyes with her and then closed his. She followed his example and prepared for the teasing she knew her brothers would heap upon them. They turned to face them, and Malachi hooked his arm around her shoulder.
Grayson grinned. “The state police agreed to do interviews at the park office so we wouldn’t have to drive all the way to the barracks. You ready to go?”
“She’s coming with me. Just give me one second to make sure my truck still drives.” He released her and trudged down the path that would lead to his truck.
When he was out of earshot, Gray raised an eyebrow. “You letting a man speak for you now?”
