Page 70 of Rescuing Brinley

“Come on. We’re leaving before anyone else shows up,” Brinley insisted.

He didn’t protest, which told her that she was correct in thinking he was at the end of his rope. This time, she drove, pulling into the hotel parking lot within minutes. Dash was like a zombie, but he still held on to her hand tightly enough that it seemed as if he was afraid she’d disappear at any moment.

Brinley had no intention of going anywhere.

After checking in and getting up to the room, she ordered room service for them and made Dash go take a long hot shower while they waited for their dinner to arrive. When it did, he ate almost robotically. Neither spoke much, which was all right with Brinley.

“I need to call the funeral home,” Dash said.

“Tomorrow. They’re closed now. I think we both need a good night’s sleep. Go change.”

He nodded and headed for his suitcase. Watching him remove his clothes would’ve gotten her all hot and bothered any other time, but all Brinley wanted to do was hold him. Comfort him. Tell him that everything would be all right. She quickly changed as well, making a short trip to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

When she reentered the room, Dash was under the covers, one arm behind his head, staring at the ceiling. She clicked off the light on her side of the bed and joined him under the sheet.

Dash immediately pulled her into him. She could feel him trembling as he held her. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. Hard.

“I had no idea anything could hurt this badly,” Dash said quietly. “I’ve lost people I’ve cared about before. Men I served with. Watched people die in combat. But this is different.”

“Of course it is. This is your mom.”

“I miss her already.”

Brinley’s very soul ached for him.

He spoke a little more about his mom, and about what they needed to do in the upcoming days…arrange her service, pay to have her cremated, figure out what to do with her belongings and maybe meet with a realtor to set things in motion to sell her house. It was a lot. But Brinley wasn’t surprised Dash was moving so fast. He didn’t live here. Didn’t have the luxury of dragging his feet. And he was a man of action. When something needed to be done, he did it.

“If you need to go home and work, that’s okay. I’ll be alright.”

“I’m not going anywhere. We came here together and we’ll go home together, once everything is settled.”

“I don’t deserve you. But I’m keeping you, Brinley Deaton.”

She smiled against him. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he said firmly.

He fell asleep not too long after that, but Brinley stayed awake for quite a while. Holding Dash, her mind going a mile a minute as she went over everything that needed to happen in the next few days. It would be a difficult week for Dash, but she had no doubt that he’d do his mom proud. Every day would get a little bit easier, but his world had definitely shifted on its axis because of his mother’s death.

She’d do everything in her power to help him cope with the extreme emotions he’d be feeling in the coming days and weeks. The more she got to know Dash and his many layers, the harder she fell for him. She loved being able to spend time with him but hated the reason why. Being with him on this trip would make returning back to their lives in Alaska all the harder because sleeping in his arms, seeing his vulnerable side, supporting him, made her yearn to have the privilege to do the same every day back home.

One step at a time.

First, they had to get through this week. She’d worry about their relationship later.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Shadow had no idea what day it was. He was exhausted. The last week had been the hardest of his life, and that included all the training he’d been through to become a Delta Force Operative. That was all physical stuff, with some mental shit thrown in for good measure.

Losing his mom was awful. Knowing he’d never see her again, would never hear her laughter, would never get another email or text, never hear her say that she was proud of him…it was torture.

As he sat on the pew in the church his mom had attended every Sunday since he could remember, and listened to her friends talk about how amazing she was and how much she’d be missed, he couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Pauline Carlson had touched so many people. Made a difference in their lives. That would be her legacy. She’d be remembered with love by hundreds of people. It made the pain in his heart lessen a little bit. She was a shining light who had made an impact on her little corner of the world.

Then, looking to his right, Shadow marveled at the strength of the woman sitting next to him.

Brinley had been with him every moment of the last week. She’d been his rock. Making sure he ate, helping coordinate the funeral arrangements, and running interference with his mom’s many well-meaning but kind of busybody friends.