Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Noah

We fell asleep talking about anything and everything. She asked me about my military service, so I droned on for probably an hour about my service and the company I had built with my partner Bill. I wasn't sure how long I'd been talking when she stopped responding. It was a little after midnight when I realized she was asleep.

It took every ounce of my self-control to keep from crawling into bed beside her, but I meant what I'd said; I wanted to do things with her the right way. I stayed in my air bed, which was already going flat, and closed my eyes. With thoughts of our past and future together, I drifted off to sleep.

I woke the next morning to the sound of rustling. Ella was trying to move across me without bothering me. I grabbed her ankle and pulled her onto me.

She yipped and then giggled. "What are you doing? I wanted to let you sleep, but I have to get ready for work."

I held her for just a second and then lightly kissed her lips. "I'm getting up too." I gently pushed her up.

"No. Crawl in my bed and sleep some more."

"I never sleep in." I hummed and went to her kitchen to make some coffee.

She was in hyper speed mode, and before I knew it, she was rushing at me from down the hallway, her hair half damp from the world's fastest shower. She wore scrubs and no makeup. Dang, she looked beautiful.

She grinned. "Is that coffee for me?"

"Just for you." I poured the steaming coffee into her travel mug.

She kissed me. "Thanks. I guess I'll see you after work?"

I wrapped my arm around her waist, relishing her words, her strawberry shampoo scent, and the fact that I was holding this woman who should've been mine all those years ago. "Sounds good." I wouldn't freak her out about how happy I was. With one more kiss, I let her go.

She rushed toward the door, grabbing her wallet and her keys.

"Ella?" I asked, and she turned back expectantly. "Pizza tonight? Our spot? I'll pick you up from the hospital."

"I'd like that," she said. A large grin brightened her face.

Adrenaline shot through me. "Okay, see you then."

I watched through the window as she climbed into her car and took off. Every part of me wished she could stay with me today. We could have another day like yesterday where we were together every second, where we knew each other's thoughts.

I sucked in a long breath and felt suddenly overwhelmed by all these emotions. "Get it together, man," I muttered.

I had to get to the gym.

I didn't know what I was expecting, but the gym didn't stop me from being overwhelmed by my thoughts and feelings. An hour into working out with my siblings and they hadn't shut up about Ella. It was a stream of questions, one after another. I didn't have the answers to many of them, and I was pestered into sharing the ones I did know.

Do you want to be with her? Yes.

Are you thinking of staying here full-time? I was planning on it.

Canyon gave me a big grin. "Good, I'd like you to stay here. A position just opened up with search and rescue, and I could use a well-trained ex-military man."

I raised my brows. "Really?"

Damon smirked at me. "I guess he's offering you a job."

"You're serious?" I asked. With my history of losing Greg, I was shocked he would even consider me. My mind flashed back to that day.

Canyon's grin nearly split his face. "My guy in charge of mountain rescue told me yesterday that he has to move for personal reasons."

"You'd be great," Damon said.

I hedged. "I'll think about it."

Canyon cocked an eyebrow. "You were a volunteer that day, and there were extenuating circumstances."

"Yeah, bro." Damon grunted. "Greg let go that day. He wanted you to save Ella."

My heart raced, and I felt suddenly uncomfortable with everyone there. I sucked in a deep breath and put my hands over my head.

McCrae moved next to me. "Dude, you need to let this go."

I thrust my hands down and said, "Really? That easy? Just let go of the fact that I'm the guy that killed him?"

"You're not the guy that killed him," Kayla said. "You're the guy that tried to save him, and you did save his sister. You need to remember that."

I squeezed my eyes shut and sucked in another long breath, willing the pain in my chest to disappear.

My siblings circled me.

"You tried to save him that day," Kayla said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Right." Damon touched my other shoulder.

Canyon spoke up. "Exactly. Take this position. I know you'll never take anything for granted out there."

"He's right," McCrae agreed. "I would be proud to have you calling the shots out there."

I hesitated, then looked each of them in the eyes. "Thanks."

A few minutes later, we walked out of the gym. Kayla, who was walking beside me, cleared her throat. "I'm going to say something to you that Mom or Dad would say."

"What's that?"

She grunted. "It seems like God has a plan."

I didn't know whether to agree or disagree with her, but I grinned. "Actually, Dad said it was God's timing."

Canyon, Damon, and McCrae all laughed.

They all got inside their cars, and I watched them drive away. It gave me a moment to chew on what they'd said.

Maybe all of this was God's timing.

Later that day, my phone buzzed. Bill was calling. "Hello?"

"It's showing that everything was delivered. Is that right?"

"Yes, thank you. It was," I said. Bill had overnighted the cameras to me. "I owe you."

Bill chuckled. "I have owed you for saving my life for a long time. This is just something I can do. I'm grateful to do it."

Bill always felt indebted to me for pulling him out of the firefight after he was hit. Yet I had never seen it that way. I'd considered it a privilege to help. I didn't need a reward or thanks. I was the commanding officer, and that was my job.

"I wanted to talk to you about something else," I told him.

Bill sighed. "How come when you want to talk to me, it feels like I'm about to be on a new mission for the government?"

I grunted. "Not something so serious."

Bill laughed. "Shoot."

"I've fallen in love with her—with having a life with her here in Refuge Falls. I want you to buy out my part of the business."

For a few seconds, I didn't get a response. Then Bill barked out a laugh. "Wow. You really don't hold back."

I grinned and then proceeded to tell Bill about what had happened the past few days.

When I got to the end of it, Bill let out another whistle. "What do you mean, they haven't been able to find the person breaking in and cutting her power and putting pictures in her house?" He went into a tirade about the justice system and how I should work this case myself. He asked how he could help me.

"Bill, thank you for your concern. I'm not letting her out of my sight. If there's another break-in, I will be with her."

Another beat of silence. "Oh, so it's like that. You don't need my help?"

Irritation spiked through me. "I am capable of protecting her. I want to."

"Okay, so you're going to marry her?"

"You bet I am."

Another pause. "Man, when you do things, you don't go halfway, do you?"

"I have loved this woman for most of my life. I have to do everything all the way with this."

"So what you're telling me, partner, is that I really don't have a choice. I'm going to buy you out."

I relaxed and sat on a barstool. "I would be grateful if you did and I'd be even more grateful if I had your blessing."

Bill let out another long sigh. "Of course you have that. You always do. I trust you with my life, so I guess I can trust you to make good life decisions for yourself."

It was nice to hear that my partner trusted me. "Thank you."

"I'll have my attorney draw up some papers, and I'll get them emailed to you in a day or two. That work?"

"That works. Thanks."

We ended the call, and I wandered out the back door and onto the deck, looking out at the lake. I could get used to this view…at least until our house was built above my parents' property. Obviously, I would have to wait a bit to tell Ella about that plan.