As she drove toward Uncle Jack's ranch, she made plans to be on a plane for Dallas first thing in the morning. His daughter would be coming back home, and before long, Shane's life would return to normal. And so would hers.
#
Shane stared at the closed door a long moment after Tess left. His chest constricted him, making breathing difficult. Forget the kiss. He didn't know if he could. He'd felt as if he'd come home in her arms. Raking his hand through his hair, he began pacing, his thoughts racing.
Maybe she was right. What had transpired between them was all built on the fact that she'd saved his life. He was grateful, not falling in love. If that were the case, once he threw himself into his work he'd forget her.
Chapter Eight
Three months later
Tess was in her tiny living room in the middle of her exercise routine when her cell phone rang. She wanted to ignore it, but what if it was her boss calling with a new assignment? Her last one had ended a few days ago, and she was ready for another job. Anything to keep herself from thinking about Shane.
She grabbed her cell phone off the coffee table and frowned when she saw the number. She almost didn't answer. But she'd made the first move, writing him a letter. Seemed wrong to ignore him now.
Her finger hovered over the button as she fought her fear. She'd finally forgiven him for the past and had told him that in her letter. She hadn't been able to bring herself to call him and say the words, although she'd meant them. Bitterness and anger that she'd been carrying had only pulled her down and hurt her. Shane and her uncle had been right about forgiveness.
She punched the answer button. "Hello."
"I didn't do anything wrong. I don't need your forgiveness." Her father spat the word. "Your mother killed herself. That wasn't my fault. And you wanted to leave me. I didn't send you away."
For a few seconds her dad's raspy voice chilled her as if he were right in front of her, belittling her for something she'd done. Then she thought of God and the peace she'd experienced when she'd written the letter last week. She wouldn't let her father rob her of that peace anymore.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, but it doesn't change how I feel. I forgive you for what happened all those years ago. I wish you the best. Please take care of yourself." And I really mean that.
"How ... dare ...?" His words sputtered to a stop.
Dead silence followed.
"Good bye, Dad."
The sound of his phone slamming filled her ear before she had a chance to disconnect her cell phone. She bowed her head and said, "Please, Lord, help him. He's in Your hands."
When she began her next exercise, she lost herself in it, clearing her mind.
Until five minutes later when the doorbell interrupted her.
Grasping a hand towel, she wiped her sweaty face and neck as she headed toward the door. Through the peephole, she checked to see whom her visitor was.
Shane.
She rested her forehead against the cool wood. What was he doing here? She'd managed today only to think about him once, so far. Of course, she'd only been awake for two hours. No matter what she did, even work, she couldn't get him out of her mind.
And why did she have to be hot and sweaty. What timing! She looked at the ceiling. Really, if this is Your idea of a joke, I don't think it's very funny. But then she couldn't deny that rush of feelings. Shane. Here.
She looked through the peephole again and saw Shane start to walk away. She needed to let him go. But before she could stop herself, she unlocked her door and opened it.
He stopped and slowly turned around. His smile melted her insides. She clutched the doorjamb before her legs gave out. She'd missed him so much. Her dreams every night hadn't done him justice.
"Why are you here?" she finally asked. "Uncle Jack would have told me if someone else was after you." Her uncle was working temporarily for Shane until he found the perfect head of security. Uncle Jack didn't want to work full-time, but he didn't mind helping Shane out for a short time.
"May I come in?"
She stepped to the side and allowed him into her apartment, glad her roommate was gone. She didn't want to explain Shane to her. "I was exercising. I'd change, but I haven't finished yet." She was babbling. What she really wanted to do was throw her arms around his neck and kiss him.
"I've tried to stay away, but I can't do it any longer. Ever since you've left, all I think about is you. Instead of time making it better, it's getting worse with you gone. Please reconsider moving to Phoenix. If you don't want to be the head of security at DDI, then work from Phoenix. Jack tells me you really don't have to be in the same town as your agency."
"My uncle has a big mouth."
"Is it true?"
"Yes. But us working together probably wouldn't be a good idea. My parents did, and it was disastrous."
"We aren't your parents. You can still be a bodyguard. You can do whatever you want to do. I don't care. I just know I want you in my life. I love you, Tess."
His declaration zapped her as if she'd held a live electrical wire and survived the shock. "But we were only together a week." She could hardly contain the urge to hold him, but she had to be sensible.
"A very intense week. We skipped the casual dating part of a relationship."
She nodded slowly. "Our feelings are probably not based on anything normal for a couple."
His eyebrows lifted. "Our feelings?"
She shrugged, heat filling her face.
"So what if we started differently than other couples? What's wrong with that? I never thought of myself as normal anyway. Tell me one thing. How do you feel about me?"
Her throat tightened, locking inside the words she'd wanted to tell him so many times over the past few months.
His earnest expression fell.
"I care about you." No, no. She couldn't lie to him. "That's not quite all. I guess ... you're always in my thoughts. I've gone over our short time together so many times, trying to understand. A relationship takes months, years to develop. How can I feel like this after just a week?"
"Like ... this?" he prompted.
"How can I have fallen in love so quickly?"
He gathered her into his arms. "I don't know, and I don't care how we got here. The important part is how we feel. Please, give us a chance. Come to Phoenix. We can become a normal couple and date for months if you want."
She buried her face into his chest, suddenly dying to confess everything. "Can I tell you one of the dreams I had? I dreamed I was having your baby. A child. Me. I mean, I love kids, but I never thought ..."
He cupped her face. "I think that's a beautiful dream. I know my daughter would love to have a little brother or sister."
"But I haven't even met Rachel."
"That's easy to remedy. Come back to Phoenix with me. Stay at my house or at your uncle's. Whatever you want, but just give us a chance. You can continue to work as a bodyguard or at DDI in security. Or" —he brushed his lips across hers— "you can marry me and have that baby you dreamed about."
It was sweet that he gave her the option to keep working, but she couldn't imagine keeping her job. How could she go on all those trips away when she had him at home, waiting for her?
"Okay. If we promise to take it slow. I want to get to know Rachel. Mostly, I want to be with you." Locking her arms around him, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him with all her love. Here in his embrace, this was where she belonged.
THE END
Thank you for reading Deadly Hunt, the first book in the Strong Women, Extraordinary Situations Series. There will be more books in the series coming soon. The second one, Deadly Intent, is about a female Texas Ranger and will be out Summer of 2014.
Margaret Daley
Bestselling author, Margaret Daley, is multi-published with over 90 titles and 5 million books sold worldwide. She had written for Harlequin, Abingdon, Kensington, Dell, and Simon and Schuster. She has won multiple awards, including the prestigious Carol Award, Holt M
edallion and Inspirational Readers' Choice Contest.
She has been married for over forty years and has one son and four granddaughters. When she isn't traveling, she's writing love stories, often with a suspense thread and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret visit her website at http://www.margaretdaley.com.
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