AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She turned at Cade’s deep voice. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed and the whiskers on his face longer than she’d ever seen. Black joggers hung low on his hips and his gray T-shirt showed off the muscles underneath.
“I think so. Just taking my clothes out so they don’t get wrinkled.” She wasn’t sure how long she’d be at Cade’s, so she’d brought enough clothes to get her through a few days. Picking up a shirt, she folded it then placed it on the pile she’d already started.
He moved into the room, the force of his energy enough to suck the air from her lungs. “You can put your things in the dresser.”
His suggestion made her giddier than it should.
“You sure?” she asked, taking more from her bag.
“Absolutely. It’d be silly not to.”
Grinning like a lunatic, she moved the pile of clothes into the dresser drawers until she’d emptied the bag. She swiped her hand inside to make sure she’d unpacked everything. The medal she’d snuck in there earlier came to the surface and she stiffened.
Cade took a step closer, glancing over her shoulder. “What’s that?”
She cringed. She could own up to what she’d planned or feign ignorance and hope he’d laugh about the misunderstanding.
But he wouldn’t buy her bullshit, and she didn’t want to have any lies between them.
She picked up the gold medal and ran her fingertips along the broad, blue ribbon. “I found this in your office.”
He clenched his jaw, questions clear in his green eyes.
Fear threatened to steal the rest of her words. Instinct made her want to recoil—to throw up her arms to protect herself from whatever attack was coming her way.
She sucked in a deep breath. This was Cade. This wasn’t Isaac. He would never, ever hit her. She simply needed to be honest and explain herself.
“I don’t know what you did to deserve this, but I know it had to be brave and required courage. You’ve opened up a little. Told me you made mistakes and people were hurt. But you must have done something much more than that, and I hated to see this medal celebrating you being tossed aside like it didn’t matter. Because it does matter. You, and what you did, matter. So I wanted to surprise you by making something special. By turning this into something to celebrate.”
He shook his head, gaze cast downward. “I shouldn’t have gotten a damn medal. I’m no hero. Never was and never will be.”
She rested a hand on his chest, his heart thumping like crazy under her touch. “You’re a hero to me. You’ve shown me kindness and compassion. You’ve protected me and stood beside me. You’re supporting my dream and building me up—showing me that I can do anything I put my mind to. Without you, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”
He finally looked at her. “You’re stronger than you think. You didn’t need me to realize that.”
“You’re right,” she said, lifting her chin. “I am stronger than I ever imagined, but you’ve helped me see that. You’ve helped me discover things about myself that have been hidden behind layers of fear and insecurity. You’veseenme. And I see you.”
A small smile finally broke through. He slowly lifted his hand and caressed the medal with his thumb. “I haven’t looked at this in years. I shoved it in a drawer and tried to forget everything about the day that led to me receiving any sort of recognition. In my mind, I was responsible for death, not life. My choices led to damage and destruction, and nothing beyond that stuck with me.”
The far-off look in his eyes told her he was back in that place—back to a time he tried so hard to forget. Maybe she’d made a mistake. Maybe she should have put the medal back in the drawer and not reminded him of everything he’d lost. “Sometimes we need to be reminded of the good we’ve done, but I’m sorry if I overstepped. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
His gaze focused on her, and he lifted his thumb to rest on her jawline. “All you’ve done is show me I can’t outrun my past. That every decision led me to this moment. And you’re right, the day good men died should be remembered and honored. I did everything I could to save them all and succeeded in saving some. I need to see the big picture and remember the good I did.”
The tension tying up her insides vanished. She laid the medal down on the bed and leaned into his touch. “You’re a good man. The best man. Don’t ever forget that.”
He grinned, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “I’m not that good.”
Oh, dear Lord. Heat curled in her core. She bit her bottom lip, waiting for him to make a move. To say more. To do something to stop the burning desire growing inside her like a raging fire.
“It’s late. I should let you get settled and sleep. It’s been a long day.”
Disappointment threatened to squelch that fire, but she wasn’t ready for him to go. Wasn’t ready to say goodbye and spend a night alone in the big bed. She wanted more. She wanted him.
“I don’t want you to leave.”
An almost pained expression flashed on his pinched face. He said nothing, only the sound of his heavy breathing in the room.
Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe he didn’t feel the same way about her as she did him, and his concern was only out ofobligation. Maybe the roundness of her belly was too much for him—a reminder of her past he couldn’t handle.
