by Lori Foster
Stumbling quickly up the steps, she called, “I’m here!”
The basement door was wrenched open, and then he was there, soaking wet, his shirt plastered to his body, his expression feral.
Behind him, the kitchen was wrecked, but that hardly mattered given they were both okay.
“Tucker,” she whispered, and she unglued her feet to run up the steps.
He met her halfway, dragging her into his arms, holding her so tightly that she could breathe—and didn’t care. His wet clothes soaked her front, and his hair dripped on her shoulders.
“The storm?”
“It’s over.”
“Thank God.”
“When Cleets called...” He choked up, put a hand against the back of her head and kissed her temple. “God, Kady, I was so afraid I’d lose you.”
Strangled with emotion, she nodded. “I had the same worry for you.” She pressed back. “How did you get here so quickly?”
“I was down the street at Mr. Cummings’s house. His wife is disabled and he’s elderly, so I helped move her.”
He was such a remarkable man. “My family?”
“As far as I know, they’re all safe. Jordan knew he’d have his hands full at the animal clinic, so Morgan went to lend a hand. They got hit with thunderstorms, but the tornado didn’t get anywhere near there. Your dad was in town.” Tucker smoothed back her hair, then pulled her close again. “He took refuge in the hardware store after he got everyone else inside.”
“That leaves a lot of cousins and—”
“And they were all worried about you.” He pressed her back. ”You didn’t answer your phone.”
“I couldn’t get any reception down here, or I’d have called.”
He nodded, his hand stroking her cheek. “Sawyer was the last of your family to call. He’d already checked on most everyone. He said to tell you they’re fine.”
She slumped against him, but not for long because he suddenly thrust her back again. “Cleets called to say you were caught in a tornado, but then the service dropped and I didn’t know—” He stopped to take fierce gulps of air. “What the hell were you thinking?”
She blinked up at him. He was shouting at her? Tucker was usually calm, even imperturbable, but now he looked both furious and ravaged with fear. Kady put a hand to his chest, stroking lightly, feeling the heat of his body even through the wet shirt. “The dogs—”
Squeezing his eyes shut, he tipped back his head, but his hands still firmly grasped her upper arms.
“They’re okay,” she whispered. “We got downstairs without being hurt, but your kitchen is wrecked.”
He drew in another harsh breath, his nostrils flaring. He seemed to be struggling.
“Tucker?”
He kissed her hard and fast, his hold almost bruising. “My kitchen and half the roofs on this street are gone. A few garages are demolished. Trees are down.” He shuddered, this time kissing her more gently. “I love you, Kady.”
Her heart jumped into overtime. He’d said it almost angrily, but he’d still said it. “I love you, too.”
His hard mouth firmed even more. “Come on.” Turning, he led her upstairs.
“The dogs—”
“I’ll get them after you’ve sat down. You’re shaking.”
She hadn’t realized it, but now that he said it, she felt the tremors attacking her limbs. “Reaction, I guess.”
At the top of the stairs, he picked her up, carrying her over the broken glass and displaced furniture, going down the hall. Inside his bedroom, which was luckily still intact, he lowered her to the bed, and asked, “Will you wait here?”
She nodded. She wasn’t sure she could get her legs to work anyway.
Shoulders tensed, face still grim, Tucker walked back out.
He loved her. He didn’t look particularly happy about it, but she could work around that.
By the time he returned, she was in a state, pacing the bedroom, looking out the window at the devastation left behind, wondering what to say to him and where they’d go from here.
He stepped into the bedroom, his muscled arms filled with squirming puppies, the blanket thrown over his shoulder, Mama on his heels.
She blurted, “You love me?”
“God, yes.” He lowered to one knee and oh-so-gently put down the puppies. “Their eyes are open.”
“They are?” Ensuring their safety had occupied all her focus, so she hadn’t even noticed. Now she peered down at them, and her heart almost melted. “Aw, so cute.”
As if pained, Tucker closed his eyes again. When he opened them, she got caught in his heated green gaze. Still on one knee, he asked, “You really do love me, don’t you?”
Without hesitation, she said, “Yes. I have for a while.”
“Good.” He looked around the bedroom as if unsure what to do.
“It looks like your kitchen got the worst of the damage.”
“Yeah.” He stroked the back of one puppy, then stood with determination. After running a hand over his head, he exhaled heavily and flexed his shoulders, attempting to shake off tension. He ended all that by scowling at her. “You can’t ever scare me like that again.”
Kady bit her lip. “I’ll try not to if you don’t scare me, either.” She wasn’t as self-possessed as he was and waiting, not knowing if he’d be hurt, had been pure torture.
Hands on his hips, he half turned away, then slanted her a look. “Will you marry me?”
Kady dropped back heavily to sit on the bed again. This day was just full of surprises!
Before she could say anything, he came to stand before her. “It’s a small town, Kady. People notice things. Plus you have a massive, very concerned family.”
She opened her mouth, and he continued, “But I want you to marry me because I love you. I know it’s fast.”
“Fast?” she scoffed. “I’ve wanted you for five years.”
“And I know you have a lot to experience yet—”
“I want to experience it with you.” She wiped her eyes with a shaking hand and sniffled. “Only you, Tucker.”
He breathed a little faster. “So you’ll marry me?”
“Of course.”
Smiling now, he sat beside her, touching her hair, her cheek. His voice went low and gruff when he whispered, “I look forward to waking up with you for the rest of my life.”
“That would be wonderful.” Joy bubbled up inside her, but oddly, she had to fight off a sob. “And I can help with all these dogs.”
His smile went crooked. “That, too.”
She threw herself against him, her arms tight around his neck. “I love you so much.” She kissed his ear, his neck, his lips.
Catching her mouth, he took over the kiss, turning it hot, full of emotion. As he ended the contact, he whispered, “I have to go. I need to check on the residents and—”
“I understand. I love how you take care of everyone. It was one of the first things that attracted me.”
“It’s my job,” he said simply.
She knew it was more than that, but she doubted Tucker would ever acknowledge just how wonderful he really was. “I’ll wait here and start cleaning up the mess.”
“The kitchen window is gone, the coffeemaker broken...”
“But you’ll be here, so I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
The dog finished putting her puppies under the bed, then crawled out to wag her tail at them.
While she petted the dog, Kady smiled at Tucker. If she hadn’t found him on that deserted road during a storm, if she hadn’t boldly kissed him, they might not be here now. “I’m glad I waited for you.”
“And now you have me. Forever.” He kissed her mouth and straightened, ready to go. “It’ll probably be late before I can get back, but we’ll make wedding plans when I do.”
She watched him go, so proud of him, so pleased with the outcome, and content to know she could spend the rest of her life making him understand that he was perfect.
Perfect for her.
* * * * *
ISBN-13: 9781488081736
Tucker
Copyright © 2018 by Lori Foster
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