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“So you put yourself in a position where you couldn’t save yourself and had to rely on me?” she asked incredulously. “Talk about responsibility.”
“I trust you,” he said. “And you had to realize that from now on in situations like this, we’ll work together. I won’t keep anything from you to protect you. If there’s a problem, we’ll figure it out.”
She gazed at him dazedly. “That will be…difficult for you.”
“It will damn near kill me,” he said bluntly.
“That’s what I meant.” She was silent. “It probably won’t work, you know.”
“It will work. You’ll be keeping an eagle eye on me, and I’ll be too scared of losing you to screw up.” He leaned toward her, and his voice was caressing. “We’ll do it together. I promise you. Everything together. We’ll start right now. Believe me.”
She did believe him. How could she help it when he was sensual and coaxing and so damn wonderfully beloved? “I believe…you think it will work. I hope you’re right.”
He smiled crookedly. “You’re not making it easy. But you’ve had a tough time lately, and we’ll have to figure out how we can put Humpty Dumpty back together again.” He brushed his lips along her cheekbone. “I’ll take my time and maybe we can talk about it. We’ve never had trouble communicating.”
“Stop treating me like a child, Caleb.” She frowned. “I do want this to work out. I just believe it may take longer than either of us think. I’m not sure there are any simple solutions.”
“I’ve never cared for simple solutions. We’ll go for the complicated ones that will last a lifetime.” He looked away from her. “Like the one you suggested some time ago. Marry me, Jane.”
She instantly shook her head. “That wasn’t why I thought we should get married. I’d seen what marriage could be with Eve and Joe. I wanted that for us. But it’s not a Band-Aid, and I won’t treat it as one. And you’ve seen the worst marriage and family life could be, and I’d be afraid you’d be waiting for it to fail.”
“It wouldn’t be like that. We’re not Eve and Joe.” He grimaced. “And thank God we have nothing in common with my honorable parents. We’d start out clean and hope for something better.”
“Hope?”
“We’re already halfway there. I’d have you.” He added lightly, “You’d have all the heavy work. But a woman who could pull my ass back from the depths of hell would have no trouble keeping me in line.”
“Don’t give me bullshit.” Her voice was shaking. “No one’s managed that yet, Caleb.”
“I told you once that I’d die for you,” he said hoarsely. “That hasn’t changed.”
“I don’t want you to die for me. I want you tolivefor me. Every day. Every way.”
“We’ll get there,” he said gently. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the palm. “As long as you’ll come along for the ride. Okay?”
She didn’t answer for a moment. Then she shrugged. “It appears that’s the direction I’m heading for the time being. Did you con me, Caleb?”
“It didn’t feel like a con to me when I was balancing that beam on my neck. Did it to you?”
She shivered. “God, no.”
“Then we’ll have to accept that it was meant to be.” He smiled. “Want to go down the hill and combine camps? I’ll call Rodland and tell him that we haven’t caused irreparable damage to each other. And that it may have turned out a draw.”
She shook her head. “You said I won. Are you going back on it?”
“No, I was just trying to save my pride. I’ll tell him that I was completely vanquished.”
“Not completely. You also got what you wanted.”
“It just didn’t seem to be that way. I guess I’m accustomed to more complete victories.” His hand tightened on her own. “Maybe I’ll get used to it. Give me time. Maybe fifty years or so…”
Chapter
11
Rodland looked Caleb over critically as they walked into the camp an hour later. “You don’t appear vanquished. But then that’s such a complex word. It could mean many things.” He glanced at Jane. “Is he vanquished?”
“Definitely,” she said. “He told me so, and Caleb never lies to me. But you’re right, too, it can mean many things.” She walked over to the fire and took the cup of coffee Rodland was extending toward her. “Caleb said that he asked you to call MacDuff today and find out if he’d gotten any information from our sniper, Nojer, after they’d picked him up at his camp and taken him back to the Run.”
