Secret Protector

by Ann Voss Peterson

  She wiped her eyes with the hand not hooked up to the IV. “I’ll admit it. Most of my life, I’ve dreamed of getting married, of having my own family, of having a man who would never leave me. But I can see how misguided that is now. How it led to me grabbing for whatever male attention I could get, just so I could get a ring, just so I wouldn’t be alone.”

  Her throat closed. She held up a hand to keep her brothers from interrupting until she could regain her composure. “I used to want to get married for marriage’s sake, I guess. Because I thought it would give me something I didn’t have. But my priorities have changed. I don’t want that anymore.”

  Thad squeezed her hand and gave her an understanding smile. “We only want the best for you, Natalie. You know that.”

  Her other two brothers nodded their agreement.

  “I know. And the best for me is a man who wants to be with me. A man whom I don’t have to worry will leave me, because he loves me so much, he doesn’t want to be anywhere else.” The short time she’d known Gray had taught her that. And after all she’d felt with him—even though it hadn’t lasted—she wasn’t going to settle for anything less from here on out. “If he loves me enough, he’ll come to me. If he doesn’t, he’s not the one.”

  All her brothers beamed at her. Devin was the first to speak. “I’m so glad to hear you say that, Natalie. You deserve the best. And I hope you really do believe it, because the three of us, we always have.”

  GRAY’S CHEST HURT LIKE hell as he slowly climbed from his car and hobbled up to the three-story gray stone mansion, and he doubted the fact that his heart was beating faster than a damn rabbit’s helped the issue. He had no idea if Natalie would agree to see him. He wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t. But whatever the case, he wasn’t leaving until he’d had his chance to speak.

  He pushed the button to the right of the grand front door. Chimes echoed through the entry hall. Before long, footsteps clicked on the marble floor inside. The door opened and Natalie’s uncle Craig peered out.

  “Hello, Mr. Kendall. I’m here to see Natalie.” He felt as nervous as a teenager, even though his body ached like an old man’s.

  Craig Kendall frowned. At first, Gray thought the man would brush him off, order him to get lost. Instead, he pulled the door wide and let Gray step inside.

  “Wait here,” he said, and walked from the foyer.

  Gray fumbled with the box in his pocket. He let his gaze skim up the split staircase, one branch leading to the east wing, one to the west. It had been almost two weeks since he and Natalie had gone off in their opposite directions. At first he had no hope of them ever coming back together. Then he knew he had to do something, that he could never go on if he didn’t try to fix what he’d broken.

  Now he was here to give it his all.

  Natalie stepped into the foyer. Dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, she had her hair pulled into a ponytail. She eyed him, a little wary, but boldly met him in the center of the wide marble floor. “It’s good to see you.”

  He hoped she really meant that. “You look good. How are you feeling?”

  “Pretty good. More like myself every day. And you?”

  She glanced down at his chest. She couldn’t see the bandages still wrapping his torso, but judging by the look on her face, she had picked up the fact that he was still less than one hundred percent.

  “I’m okay. Healing.”

  She nodded.

  He hated the fact that they were so stiff with one another, so awkward. He wanted the teasing flirtiness back, a tone that had always bloomed so naturally between them. “I miss you.”

  She pressed her lips together and nodded, as if she was unable to speak.

  He wanted to pull her into his arms, to kiss her until all the hurts between them went away. But he realized she wasn’t ready for that. He didn’t know if she’d be ready for him to touch her ever again. “I’m so sorry for leaving you that day.”

  She nodded again.

  His chest ached, but not from the gunshot wound. That pain would fade in the weeks and months ahead. He had no idea if the wounds between them could ever heal. All he knew was that he needed to tell her everything that was in his heart. That was all he could do. “I realize I screwed up. In trying to take responsibility for everything, I didn’t own the one thing I needed to. The one thing that is most important. I love you, Natalie.”

  A slip of a whimper sounded deep in her throat.

  “Duty and responsibility and doing the right thing—it doesn’t mean anything to me without you in my life. I can’t go through a second of the day without thinking of you. I can’t sleep at night without dreaming of all the ways I screwed up. I don’t know if you can forgive me or even if you want to, but I love you, Natalie Kendall. And I can’t go one more day without telling you that.”

  She stepped toward him. “I love you, too, Gray.”

  His breath caught in his throat. Her words were all he wanted, all he needed.

  He took her in his arms and brought his lips down to hers. Her kiss was the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted. And when he looked back into her eyes, his own vision was misty with tears. “In the fire, I promised I’d never leave you, that I’d never let you go. I meant it, Natalie. I realize I can’t control the world. That I can’t take care of everyone. That it isn’t even my duty to try. But I want to take care of you, if you’ll have me.”

  She nodded. A little smile touched her lips. “How about if we try taking care of each other?”

  No wonder he loved her so. “Yes. That sounds right. We take care of each other for the rest of our lives.”

  He grabbed a deep breath and lowered himself to one knee. His bad knee was stiff and both were still bruised, but he didn’t care. He’d gone through worse in combat; the least he could do was sacrifice a little comfort for love.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out the velvet box. Opening it, he held it up in one hand for Natalie to see, clutching her hand in the other. “Natalie Kendall, will you marry me?”

  She pressed her lips together and frowned down at him. “Did my brothers put you up to this?”

  He tilted his head. Not exactly the response he’d expected. “Your brothers? Are you kidding?”

  A laugh bubbled from her lips.

  He still didn’t get it. Maybe she was making a joke. “They’d probably be more eager to break my kneecaps than see me propose.”

  She knelt down beside him on the cold marble floor. Tears filled her eyes, making her green irises sparkle like they were made of emeralds. “Yes, Gray. I’ll marry you.”

  He took her face in his hands and kissed her lips, her cheeks, her cute little nose. Her tears tasted salty on his tongue. Her skin smelled like heaven.

  They slid down until they were both sitting on the floor in the big, formal foyer, holding each other. And Gray knew from that moment on, he would never, ever let her go.

  Epilogue

  Thanksgiving at the Kendall mansion had always been something spectacular. Turkey and stuffing, cranberries and pumpkin pie. The works. They ate like gluttons, then watched the St. Louis Rams take on the Dallas Cowboys. Then after the game, they ate some more.

  Natalie had been so proud to have Gray sitting at the long, festive table beside her. He held her hand under the tablecloth, twirling her ring around and around her finger. And that night, even though neither of them was yet in the best health, he stayed with her in her newly refurbished cottage.

  The next day was set aside for one of Natalie’s favorite holiday treats. Trimming the tree. After Thad and Ash cut a gorgeous fir, the whole family gathered in the mansion’s large living room.

  Aunt Angela and Jolie opened boxes of ornaments while Devin and Uncle Craig strung the lights. Rachel passed out plates of leftover wedding cake to anyone who would have some. And the rest of them waited their turn to hang their favorite ornaments, some of which they’d had since they were children.

  When they were stuffed with white almond cake with c
hocolate mousse filling and buttercream frosting, Gray pulled Natalie off to a quiet corner. “I know this is bad timing, but I need to talk to you about something I noticed. Something that’s been bothering me for a while.”

  In the past, a comment like that would have sent Natalie’s heart racing. She would have been certain he was going to tell her he was unhappy, announce there was nothing left for him to do but leave. But this time, she was certain none of those nightmares would play themselves out. She felt totally at ease. Totally sure of the man beside her. Concerned only that something might be causing him unease. “What is it?”

  He dipped a hand into his pocket, pulled out a photograph and handed it to her.

  She looked down at the picture. It was the face of the man at the coffee shop, the murderer who’d killed poor Chet and tried to kill both of them. Her heart gave a little shudder.

  She glanced back up at Gray. “What about him?”

  “The day of the fire, I noticed something. I kept telling myself it’s not important, that it’s really nothing, but I can’t let it go.”

  “I don’t understand. What?”

  “Does he look familiar to you?”

  She looked back at the picture. It had been taken by the police, after the man was dead. The whole idea of looking at a dead body this way was pretty creepy. The fact that the last time he’d been alive he’d tried to kill them made it even worse.

  “What do you think?” Gray prompted.

  “There is something that’s bothered me, too.” Now that Gray had brought it up, she could no longer deny the niggle at the back of her mind whenever she’d thought of the mysterious Wade. She’d been haunted by his features, too, seen his face in her dreams, and she still had no clue why. “I can’t help thinking that maybe I should know him. He looks kind of familiar to me.”

  Gray frowned. “He looks like you.”

  “What?”

  “Without the brown eyes. Not as pretty, obviously. Don’t take this the wrong way, Natalie, but Wade, whoever he was, looks more like you than your own brothers do.”

  She looked back down at the picture and pressed her hands between her knees to keep them from trembling. “You really think so? What does that mean?”

  “Maybe nothing.” Gray slipped an arm around her and held her close. “But I think we should find out.”

  She didn’t want to think too hard about what finding out could mean. Not until she had to. “You’re thinking about a DNA test?”

  “Rachel could take a swab from the inside of your cheek right now. If the crime lab is too backed up, we could take it to a private lab, have the test expedited. Maybe it will tell us who he really is. And if he’s related to you, maybe that will explain why he tried to kill you.”

  She felt a chill work up her spine. Arm still tight around her, Gray rubbed her shoulder with his fingers.

  She looked into his eyes and nodded. “I want to know the truth. And whatever it is, I know I can take it. I can handle anything with you and my family by my side.”

  He brought his lips to hers and gave her a gentle kiss. “And I’m never leaving.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “I know.”

  Special thanks and acknowledgment to Ann Voss Peterson for her contribution to the Situation: Christmas series.

  ISBN: 978-14592-1592-4

  SECRET PROTECTOR

  Copyright © 2011 by Harlequin Books S.A.

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  * Wedding Mission