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He pinched the bridge of his nose and blew out his breath. He lowered his hand and looked at Haylee. “I couldn’t just let the man punch his wife.”
“The moment you heard the woman say she shouldn’t have married him, you should have known to leave it to the deputies.” Haylee’s eyes glinted with anger. “Domestic situations are some of the most dangerous. As you saw, some women don’t want to be rescued. Or at least she’s not ready yet to make that stand. But regardless, this was something you should never have stepped into.”
He studied her. “Why are you so angry?”
“Are you that dense? I care about you and don’t want to see you hurt or killed by doing something as stupid as getting into the middle of a domestic dispute.” She raised her hands. “Putting yourself into dangerous situations can also put other people at risk. What if he had turned the gun on his wife?”
Tyson closed his eyes, drew a deep breath, and let it out slowly. He opened them again. “The man was about to hit his wife with a bat.”
“He could have killed you.” Haylee lowered her arms, and to his surprise, it looked like she might cry. “I need to get home and get some rest. I have a long day tomorrow.”
Tyson forced himself to stop from taking her into his arms. They fell into step on the way to her truck. When they reached the driver’s side door, she unlocked it and turned to him, but didn’t say anything. She usually had such a clear open expression, but right now he couldn’t read her.
He decided he was all in, so he cupped the sides of her face and looked into her eyes. “You okay?”
“Yes.” The word came out in a whisper.
He wasn’t sure exactly where he stood at this moment. “Can I kiss you?”
It was like the tense moments fell away. Her shoulders relaxed, and the lines on her forehead disappeared. “Yes.” The word came out low and soft.
He smiled and brushed his mouth over hers. She leaned into him, her body melding with his. He kissed her until he couldn’t think straight.
When he came up for air, he studied her and the glitter of her eyes in the moonlight. “Goodnight, Haylee.”
“Goodnight.” She reached up and kissed him before stepping away and climbing into her truck.
He shut the door behind her, waited until she had left the parking lot, and drove away into the night.
Tonight, he hadn’t truly felt fear. He’d been in a lot of dangerous situations during his military career, and this hadn’t seemed any worse until he’d had a gun in his face.
Even then, he wasn’t sure he would have done anything differently. He had to try, didn’t he? He prevented the man from hitting his wife, even if the asshole pulled a gun on him. At least she hadn’t been beaten up.
But what would the bastard do to her when they were alone? Would he take what happened tonight out on her?
A hot, heavy weight filled Tyson’s gut like molten lead. It was his nature to help, but had he hurt her instead?
All he wanted to do was help when he could. He hadn’t been able to help his mom, so he had to help others whenever it was in his power to do so.
His thoughts turned to the night he had pushed Old Bill out of the way of the truck the night of the barn dance. The look on Haylee’s face at the thought of him being killed—it wasn’t that she didn’t think he should have saved the man’s life. It was because she’d lost someone in some terrible way. And tonight, when she felt he could have been killed—had it brought back more bad memories? What had happened to make her feel that way?
Thoughts of the scene with the man and his wife stuck in his mind like a burr that he couldn’t dislodge. He turned away from the road, headed to his truck, hit the remote, and climbed in.
The drive seemed longer than usual, so he had plenty of time to work everything over in his mind.
Tyson grimaced. Haylee was making him look at things differently. He wanted her, his heart needed her—hopefully she’d give him the chance to show they were meant to be together.
11
The early November morning of their gold-hunting trip dawned cloudy and cool. Haylee gripped the picnic basket in one fist as she jogged down the front steps of her home, her backpack bouncing against her the entire way. She was glad she had packed extra clothes to layer with for the Huachuca Mountains—it was sure to be much chillier up there.
Tyson met her halfway, a seductive grin curving his lips. “Ready for adventure?”
“Absolutely.” She tipped her face up when she reached him, and her long braid crept over her shoulder to cascade down her back.
He lowered his head, and his lips met hers in a long, lingering kiss. Warmth filled her, spreading throughout her body, to her fingers and toes. When he drew away, she sighed and met his gaze. For a long moment, they looked into each other’s eyes, and he smiled.
“I’ve been looking forward to this getaway with you, hon.” Tyson’s fingers brushed her shoulders and arm as he stripped her of her backpack and the picnic basket.
