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Her hand instinctively went to her chest, fingers splayed over her racing heart. “Is everything okay? Did Kate and Fenn check in? Is there news?”
“Nothing yet. I just wanted to talk.”
He crossed the room and sat beside her on the bed, their knees almost touching. The scent of woodsmoke and leather drifted from him, wrapping around her like a warm embrace.
He reached out and took her hand in his, his grip firm yet gentle. “This business with Kellen’s going to work out. Fenn and Kate will locate his aunt, and then we’ll make it work.”
“Thank you.” She squeezed his hand, grateful for the reassurance, even as anxiety gnawed at her insides.
His smile eased the tension in her shoulders, but a shadow passed over his face, and she knew there was more to come.
“Listen, there’s something I need to tell you.” The words hung heavy in the air.
His face darkened as he squirmed on the bed next to her. The momentary silence that followed threatened to swallow them both. He shook his head. “Should have done it a long time ago.”
She braced herself, gripping the edge of the quilt beneath her.
“Truth is, my team and I...” He hesitated. “We’ve done things. Dark things.” His eyes flickered with shadows of past actions. “We’ve killed people, ruined lives, all because we believed we were following orders. Only it turns out, we weren’t.”
“I know.” Jane reached out, her hand finding his, fingers intertwining. “Everyone has a past.”
“Jane, I’m not sure you?—”
“I know. Really. Tai told me.” She squeezed his hand, her green eyes locked onto his blue ones. “Whatever you’ve done, that’s not who you are now. Redemption Creek is all about second chances, right?”
Bridger pulled back, clearly stunned. “All this time, you knew?”
She shrugged. “Only since you headed off after Pegs. Tai and Paige told me in the hangar, while we––” Even though she was safe now, she couldn’t say the words.
Bridger snorted, feigning anger. “Some best friend. I should have known he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”
“He loves you,” Jane admonished him gently.
Bridger nodded, still pretending to fume, but the tension drained from his frame. “Some best friend,” he griped.
“You owe him one.” She teased.
“I’ll add it to the list,” he grumbled. Then his expression cleared. He stared her in the eye. “That’s only part of what I wanted to discuss.”
“Oh?” She bit her lip hard, trying to quell the silly, hopeful feelings rising up in her chest.
He took her hands in his, holding them gently, his eyes still on hers. “I’d like to see where things could go between us. I didn’t want to bring it up before…before you knew about my past, but now that you know, and you haven’t run off…” His voice trailed off.
Hope and the silly urge to laugh fizzed through her veins, lightening her soul. “Bridger North, are you asking me out?”
The grin that broke over his face stole her breath. “Miss Reilly, yes. I believe I am. I’d like the chance to show you the kind of man I can be.”
“Are you sure you’re ready for that?” Her breath caught in her throat as her mind raced, trying to process the intensity of his words.
He pulled back, gently untangling them. “More than anything.”
Before she knew what was happening, he pulled her into his arms, enveloping her in the warmth and safety she’d been craving for so long.
And in that moment, Jane knew—despite everything they’d been through, every obstacle they’d faced and the fight for Kellen yet to come—that maybe, just maybe, they had a chance at something real. Something worth fighting for.
She pressed her chin into his shoulder, trying to quell the storm of emotions threatening to engulf her. The thought of losing Kellen was unbearable, but the prospect of a future with Bridger—a life filled with laughter and love—felt like a balm to her wounded heart.
“God,” she whispered, “please help me find a way to keep them both.”
