Chapter 8

Boone handedher a cup of hot coffee. They’d brought Coltraine back into town and gotten him behind bars. Coltraine wasn’t someone to be trusted, and she didn’t want to see anyone hurt because they’d let their guard down. Coltraine might be sick and weak, but he was still dangerous, and he was mean as a snake.

She warmed her hands on the cup and didn’t care that her chattering teeth knocked against the cup every time she tried to take a drink. Colt O’Hara had already been in town helping his brothers make things more organized and assisting those who were without electricity, so they hadn’t had to wait long for him to make his way to the jail.

“You should get a shower and get warm,” Blaze said, coming up beside her. He held his own cup of coffee and his clothes were as soaked as hers. “He’s not going anywhere for a while.”

“Do me a favor and go into the cell with Colt,” she said. “I don’t trust Coltraine.”

“I can do that. If you’ll take my truck back to the house and stop being so stubborn.” He handed her his keys. “Your lips are blue.”

Lily rolled her eyes and headed down the hall toward the back door, and then she made the short drive back to Blaze’s house. She was going to have to take Coltraine back to New York, but the thought of leaving Laurel Valley made her chest tight. Even leaving Blaze for a little while didn’t sit well with her. They were supposed to be together.

But they’d never even talked about what being together looked like. What their future looked like. They were married and they knew so little of each other, only that they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. They literally lived at opposite ends of the country. But she had no ties in New York.

She was a free agent and she could find bondsmen to work for out here just as easily as in New York. Granted, there were probably fewer fugitives in this part of the country, but she could venture closer to Seattle and Portland if she had to.

Her apartment was sparse. All she had to do was pack up her few belongings and give her landlord notice. And for better or worse, she was going to make Laurel Valley her home.

She showered quickly and changed into a pair of Blaze’s sweats she’d found in his drawer. They were much too big for her, but they were warm, which was all she cared about. She brushed the tangles from her hair and left it to dry around her shoulders.

As soon as Coltraine could travel she had to get him on a plane and back to New York. She sure as heck wasn’t going to transport him in a car. Talk about misery. She’d have to leave her motorcycle here, but that shouldn’t be a problem.

Lily gathered up all her belongings and the paperwork to capture Coltraine and set them all on the coffee table in the living room. She wanted to be ready to go as soon as she had the green light. The sooner she could leave the sooner she could be back.

She went to the kitchen to make more coffee when she heard the knob turn and Blaze come in. His eyes automatically went to her bags on the coffee table. He stared at her a few seconds, and she wondered what was going through his mind.

“I’m going to grab a quick shower,” he said. “There’s sandwich stuff in the fridge if you’re hungry.”

She assumed that meant he wanted a sandwich too, so once he went into the bedroom, she started assembling ingredients on the counter. When he came back ten minutes later, Lily’s mouth went dry and her throat closed at the sight of him. He wore only a towel tied precariously at his hips.

The knife she’d picked up to cut the sandwiches clattered to the counter, and she forgot what she was doing.

“I—your sandwich. It’s ready.”

“I’m not hungry for that,” he said. “I saw your bags. Don’t go.”

“Blaze—” she said, shaking her head.

“Ssh, sweetheart. Just kiss me.” His lips touched the corner of her mouth and then trailed lightly over her jawline.

“Blaze—” she said again, but this time it came out as a moan. He didn’t realize that she’d already decided to stay.

“Don’t run from what we have,” he said. “What we can make together.”

She could barely form words to reassure him. Her head was spinning and her body felt weightless, but then she realized he’d picked her up in his arms and was carrying her toward the bedroom.

“Please, Blaze. Just love me.”

“I am,” he whispered. “I do.”