When the two men whirled, they spotted them in turn, and readied to defend themselves, there was a shout from below, and Tommy quickly realized that, somehow,Minniehad landed one of them in the river.
But he’d have to wait to hear that story for another time, as right now, they had to get out of here.
As the other men engaged in fisticuffs, Tommy grabbed Minnie’s hand and led her away from the docks, back the way they had come. They hadn’t gone particularly far when Tommy realized he had no idea where he was going. If somehow the other men got away from Rhys, Colin, and Jonny, however, he knew exactly what to do.
He had been preparing for these situations his entire life. He just hadn’t realized it.
Footsteps echoed toward him, and Tommy shifted, ready to stick out his foot and send his pursuer sprawling. Then he caught sight of familiar faces and let out a breath of relief.
“We’re good, but we have to go,” Jonny said, and Tommy took Minnie’s arm as they followed Jonny, Rhys leading with him and Colin following behind them to make sure no one took them unawares. It wasn’t until they neared the blacksmith shop that some of Tommy’s tension eased, although he was wary as they climbed the stairs.
As soon as they entered the door, Tommy dropped the bag, and Minnie turned to him, sagging into his arms. Despitehis need to sit down himself, this was the respite he needed. He wrapped one arm around her, the other encircling the back of her head as he lifted her face to his and crashed his lips down upon her, though he tilted his head to keep his nose from being hit again.
He kissed her like a drowning man desperate for air, needing her more than he ever thought possible. When he thought that she had been lost to him, he had been beside himself, wondering how he was ever going to live with himself if she was taken, if anything unspeakable happened to her. Despite his best intentions, he hadn’t been able to protect her, and now all he wanted to do was to hold on tightly to her and never let her go.
If she’d let him.
He was lost in her, in the feel of her soft curves pressed against him as he used his hand to tug her even tighter toward him. His other hand laced through her hair as his tongue sought hers, arresting her, taking her with all the desperation he had felt over the past day.
He never should have taken her with him, but then, it would have been even worse if she had been captured while they had been apart.
A throat cleared from behind them, and reluctantly, Tommy pulled back and away from her, as three knowing, smiling faces stared back at him. Right. They had an audience. This would have to continue later.
“We’re safe for now,” Jonny said. “But they’ll be coming for us. Especially you, Tom. What are you going to do?”
“We need to take Blackwood down even more desperately now,” Tommy said grimly. “We have a game in two days. This all needs to be taken care of before then.”
“Or else what?” Rhys demanded.
“I don’t want to find out,” Colin said. “We practice tomorrow. Let’s meet afterward?”
“Afterward,” Rhys agreed. “We should bring the ladies. I don’t want to leave them alone, and we know they won’t want to sit this out anyway.”
“Agreed,” Colin said, and they all nodded. “Tommy, do you want us to call a doctor? Not sure about the angle of your nose, and from the way you’re walking?—”
“I’m fine,” Tommy insisted, but then caught Minnie’s worried gaze. “Really, Minnie, I promise.”
“You didn’t look fine when you were flat out on the floor,” she said, biting her bottom lip, which, if he wasn’t wrong, had been quivering slightly. Had she really been that worried about him?
“I’m fine,” he said, even as he had to take a seat in the kitchen chair for fear of falling over. “I just need some rest. If it makes you all feel better, I’ll go get checked out tomorrow. You’re all worse than my mother.”
“Who I will go tell about all of this if you don’t take care of yourself,” Colin promised, and Tommy just frowned at him.
“Go on, Colin,” he said, unable to stop from looking at Minnie, needing her in ways that scared him to even think about. “Get out of here.”
“But—”
“I just need time with my wife,” he finally said in exasperation, and finally they understood as Colin clapped a hand on his back and made his way to the door.
“Anything either of you need, you tell us,” Colin said, looking at both of them. “Understood?”
Tommy nodded as Rhys added, “Don’t do anything like this alone again. We go together.”
“I don’t want my problems to become all of yours,” Minnie said in a soft voice, and it was only then that Tommy truly understood. Just as he didn’t want Minnie taking this on, neither did his teammates want him to be alone. Caringfor someone meant making sure that they were no longer going through the hard times by themselves. Watching them do so only made things all the worse — for everyone.
“They are our problems together,” Tommy said much more confidently. “Got it. We won’t take on anything alone, men. We promise.”
“Good to hear it,” Colin said, a look of understanding in his eyes. “Goodnight, Tom, Minnie.”
