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“It’s the truth,” I promised, neither of our smiles wavering.
Del took her hand back and lifted an expectant brow. “Yeah? I bet you say things like that to all the ladies.”
“No, no lines.”
“Why? Because you’re so suave that you don’t need them? Women swoon the second you step into a room?”
Though I knew Del was teasing, there was a hint of something more in her voice that I didn’t like, and I shook my head. I wanted to tell Del that no one compared to her. That no one else had ever mattered because it was always her...But she would think it was another line, so I took her hand instead. I placed it on my chest, splaying my fingers over hers.
My heart was pounding as I opened my mind to her. Whatever she saw, if she wanted to glean anything at all, she couldn’t unsee. But it would be worth it if she finally knew how much she meant to me. Truly knew it and felt it in her bones the way I did.
“It’s only ever been you, Del,” I told her, and the moment she realized what I was offering her, her brow furrowed with uncertainty.
Her touch was so intimate and terrifying, yet, I’d never wanted Del to see me more than I did standing there with her. In that moment. I lifted my other hand and stroked the side of her face.
Del’s eyes flitted shut, and I showered her with the memories that had kept me up each night and had absorbed me for the past ten years. I held nothing back because I wanted her to see me. To feel what I felt for her with every memory, no matter how much they changed throughout the years. I wanted Del to know Fin, the man, not the boy. I wanted her to feel and see it all.
The seconds passed painstakingly slowly, and my heart continued to race as I considered how very dangerous this might be, but still, I waited.
When Del’s eyes finally opened, the amber flecks in those brown depths glowed in the dying sunlight, and it wasn’t discomfort or misery or regret shining back at me. It was something indescribable, something that made me feel as if every unspeakable thing we’d gone through over the years had been worth it. Had brought us to this moment.
“I’ve missed you too,” she breathed, and seeing the relief in Del’s eyes, I couldn’t help myself. In the heat of the setting sun, I wrapped my arms around Del and kissed her for what felt like the first time in days.
It was only as I heard Callon clear his throat that I begrudgingly opened my eyes and broke our kiss.
Callon grinned as he passed, his arms stacked with blankets to shield our people against the cool desert night. Glancing around, I realized we did have a few onlookers, some curious, others confused and intrigued.
I cleared my throat. “I should be helping them,” I said, but when I looked at Del, at her kiss-swollen lips and flushed cheeks, I knew so much would change when we reached Shoshone, and I wasn’t ready for that yet. “Can I show you something?” I asked.
Del huffed a laugh and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Last time you said that, things didn’t end well.”
That was a sucker punch to the gut, but I knew she was only teasing. “We don’t even have to leave camp,” I promised.
She smiled, a soft, pretty curve of her lips that awakened every male part of me. “Of course, you can show me.”
“Hey, Callon!” I called, and he looked over his shoulder. I beckoned him to me, and he took a few steps backward. “We’ll be on Birdy if you need anything.” I jogged over and snagged one of the blankets off the stack in his arms.
He nodded with a trademark grin. “Have fun.”
Del grinned as I jogged back to her. “We’ll be onBirdy?” she clarified.
“She’s my favorite.”
“Your favoritewhat?” Del asked as I led her over to the rusted semi-truck trailer I’d spent many nights on over the years. “Should I be scared?”
“Not at all.” I winked and helped Del climb to the top.
“What are we doing up here, exactly?”
“The sun is about to set,” I told her and plopped down on the roof. “The desert is famous for its sunset.”
“Oh, really?” She smiled and sat down beside me, easily leaning back into my arms. I pulled her against my chest and reveled in the moment. There was something about having Del out in the desert I now called home, with the people I trusted, that made everything feel strangely right, and I wanted to show her every secret, special thing about this place.
“You know what else the desert is known for?” I asked, voice low in her ear.
Del craned her neck to look at me. “What’s that?”
“Its sunrise.”
