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“If I go back to Dallas, maybe I’ll get involved in a drug awareness program for kids, where I can make a difference in another way.”
“Anything else?” Dana whispered, almost afraid to ask.
“All I can come up with is that I want you and Katie in my life forever.”
Her heart stumbled hard this time. “Oh?”
“I have no idea what kind of work I could ever do out here—or even if you’d have me. I know that what happened years ago has been a real problem, because you figure I just took off and never cared enough to look back. But that’s not true.”
Even as he spoke, all of the advice Francie and her mother had been giving her came tumbling back. And suddenly she knew exactly what her answer had to be.
“My mother told me about what she did to you. How she kept it a secret all these years.” Dana took another step closer to him until she could feel the heat of his body next to hers and breathe in his faint masculine scent of soap and aftershave. “But I want you to know that what she said made no difference at all.”
The light in his eyes faded. He studied her face for a long, silent moment. “That’s your answer? That’s all?” He seemed to withdraw from her even before he moved, his remote expression becoming that of a stranger.
Before she could react, he’d started for the door.
“Whoa!”
He stopped at the doorway, turned partway back. “Whoa?”
“Sorry, it’s a reflex.” She gave him an embarrassed smile as she caught up to him. “I think I’ve even told my kids to heel a time or two, but that sure never worked.”
“I don’t know if there’s anything left to say.”
“No. There isn’t. Except that my mother’s confession didn’t make any difference, because I’d already listened to my heart. I already knew that nothing in the past mattered anymore. I love you, Zach.”
Cautious of his sling and injured arm, she reached up and clasped her hands behind his head, then pulled him gently down until their lips met.
He definitely didn’t seem very disabled when he slipped his good arm around the back of her neck and crushed her mouth against his—as if he wanted to devour her whole.
Shivers of sensation shot through her, enveloping her heart and making her toes curl. The clinic, bright Colorado sunshine, and the entire world faded away as she lost herself in the exquisite warmth of his mouth and the powerful curve of his arm behind her.
He lifted his head and smiled. “There is one last thing to say...and this time, there’d better be no misunderstandings or I might just go into heart failure.”
She looked up at his beloved face. “Will you marry me?”
He gave a shout of laughter. “You got it. And my answer is definitely yes.”
Then he pulled her close again and showed her just how much he meant it.
