by Rachel Lee
Del was too weary to pay any attention. After last night, running on absolutely no sleep, she couldn’t deal with anything more, even something as silly as a wink from Sally.
The shower might be impossible at the moment, but Del still had one good arm, and it was enough to help Colleen get dressed.
But Colleen reached out and gripped her forearm, stopping her. “Mom?”
“Yes, honey?”
“You’re really okay?”
“Just some bruises.”
Colleen slipped an arm up around her neck, and they hugged. “Mom?” she whispered. “Yes, honey?”
“Don’t…don’t go away like Daddy did.”
Del lost it. She started sobbing, and she hugged her daughter as tightly as she could with one arm. “I’m safe,” she whispered brokenly. “I’m safe and I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here when you come home from school. I promise.”
“The bad guy is in jail, right?”
“Right. And Mike will protect me just like he did last night.” It was a rash promise, one she wasn’t entitled to make, but it seemed necessary.
But then she heard a sound and looked over Colleen’s head to see Mike standing there. She could have sworn his eyes seemed a little damp. “I’ll protect your mom,” he said to Colleen. “I promise.”
He took Colleen to school and then drove Sally home, and it seemed to Del to take forever. She was exhausted, she hurt and, by God, she didn’t want to be alone.
Although if she were honest, she wasn’t really alone. There were enough cops swarming over her house right next door that help could have arrived in an instant.
But life had taken too much from her, and after last night she wondered if she would ever feel safe again.
But then Mike walked through the door and she realized she could. And would. At least with him.
He scooped her up and sat on the couch with her on his lap. He showered kisses all over her face. She answered eagerly, needily, knowing deep within that this was a man she didn’t want to lose.
Yet she had absolutely no reason to think he wanted her in the same way. Her heart squeezed as she remembered all his objections to getting involved with a white woman. And she couldn’t blame him for that. Everyone learned lessons, and lessons learned the hard way stayed the longest.
Mike’s cell phone rang. He swore. “Dammit, if this is work I’m going to…” He didn’t complete the thought as he fished his phone out of his breast pocket.
Del’s heart sank. Of course this was a workday for him. He probably had all kinds of appointments. Should probably, in fact, be at the office right now.
The thought of spending the day without him, all alone with nothing to think about except what had happened last night and how much she missed him, nearly scared her.
“The sheriff,” he said, looking at the screen on his phone. He flipped it open and spoke. “Howdy, Gage. What’s up?”
He listened for a while, then said, “Okay, I’ll tell her.”
“Tell me what?” she demanded as he tucked his phone away.
“Jimmy denies all knowledge of sounds in the house. And since he’s admitted to everything else…” He let the sentence dangle unfinished.
Del closed her eyes, trying to absorb it. “Maybe…”
“Maybe,” Mike said. “Maybe. Some things just never get answers, Del. Never.”
She met his gaze. “Tell me. Do you think it was Madeline?”
“I don’t know. But in my world that’s possible. Can you live with that?”
She put her fingers to her forehead, thoughts scrambling around inside her head like worried mice, escaping every effort to grasp them. And then she knew, absolutely knew, something deep inside herself.
“If…if it was Madeline, we’ll never know.”
“No,” he agreed.
“But if I were her, I’d sure want somebody to discover what happened to me.”
“I would, too.”
She drew a deep breath, then let it go. “I guess I can live with that mystery.”
“Mysteries can be good things. They help remind us of the magic in life. That we don’t know everything.”
She nodded, accepting it. “I can deal with that.”
“Then there’s something else I’d like you to deal with.”
She raised her eyes to his, found them dark, warm and inviting. Such beautiful eyes. “What’s that?”
“I realized something last night when I came charging down those steps and saw you in so much danger. Hurt and not even moving.”
“What’s that?”
“I think I love you, Del. Because right then, when I thought you might be gone, I realized I didn’t want to face this morning without you.”
She caught her breath. All weariness vanished, replaced by a dawning of joy she had thought she would never know again. “Oh, Mike!”
“I realize we’ve hardly had a chance to know each other. I mean, a handful of days is hardly a courtship. But I want to take it slow. I want to date you. I want to be sure Colleen wants me around all the time. And then…and then, assuming you start to feel the same way about me, and everything’s okay by Colleen, I want to marry you. Because honest to God, Del, I faced life without you last night, and it’s just not worth living.”
For a few moments she couldn’t even find her voice. Her heart pounded wildly and a tear rolled down her cheek.
“Oh, hell,” he whispered. “I made you cry. It’s okay. Forget I said anything.”
“No.” It came out as a gasp, but then again, more strongly. “No. I won’t forget. Because I want the same thing, too, Mike. The very same thing. I think I love you.”
The smile on his face was beautiful. She’d always found him beautiful, but right now he gave new meaning to the word. That gorgeous smile. She couldn’t imagine a day without it.
Still smiling, he scooped her up and carried her carefully to his bedroom, where he laid her gently down.
“We’ll sleep now,” he whispered. He lay beside her and drew her carefully into his arms. “Then we’ll wake up together and go get Colleen. Which is the way I want to wake up every single day for the rest of my life.”
She couldn’t think of a better future. Snuggling in, she smiled and closed her eyes.
Happiness had found her once again.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8499-3
NO ORDINARY HERO
Copyright © 2011 by Susan Civil Brown
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