Chapter 9

They spentthe next three days lost in each other when they weren’t out dealing with the aftereffects of the flood. Lily had fit right in. She’d joined his siblings and cousins and other members of the community in giving out water, going on rescue missions, and making sure people were well taken care of. He’d loved every minute of having her by his side, being able to work together and then come home and share a meal and each other.

He’d thought—hoped—she’d say the words he needed to hear, but she never did. But it had felt like she loved him every time she touched him. Every time she looked at him and smiled. Every time she told him a story from her childhood, told him harrowing tales of some of her cases, and even when she’d finally shared what had happened the day her partner was killed.

They were like sponges, soaking in all the information and filling in the gaps of all the years they’d spent apart. He knew her like he’d never known another woman.

But on the fourth morning at dawn her phone had buzzed with a message that said Coltraine was cleared for travel. He was still weak, but he’d been given fluids and medicine, and he was no longer contagious.

It was as if the last days they’d spent together had never happened. She’d rolled out of bed, showered and dressed, stopping only long enough to make the coffee she seemed to need to survive.

He pulled on a pair of sweats and followed her to the kitchen, wondering why he felt as if a hole had been punched into his chest. He’d been shot and stabbed, punched and even ice-picked once. But nothing compared to the pain of imagining what life without her would be. How could she leave so easily?

“Stay,” he said. “Don’t go back to New York.”

She looked up at him in surprise. “I’ve got to take Coltraine back and get him booked.”

“I told you I loved you.”

“I know,” she said. “I love you too. And I’ve realized you were right. Being able to open up to you is what I needed. I can’t live my life as I have been. And I realize I’ve not really been living at all because of fear.”

“So is that it?” he asked, unable to help the emotion in his voice. “You’ve realized what you’ve been missing and now you’re just going to go back to New York and leave Laurel Valley behind? Can you really do that? Just walk away without giving it a chance? Laurel Valley is my home. But I’d leave in a heartbeat if it meant I got to spend another day—another lifetime—with you.”

His breathing was harsh and something that felt an awful lot like fear clutched at his belly when he saw the look of surprise on her face. He could feel her slipping out of his grasp like grains of sand.

“I know we moved fast. Maybe you regret marriage after knowing each other for such a short amount of time, and maybe I don’t even have the right to ask. But I’m going to anyway because I’ve got nothing left to lose. Could you stay? Could you be happy here? Leave the city and your job for a town with people who will want to know every inch of your past, present, and future?”

She clasped her hands in front of her and took a step closer, her gaze never straying from his. “No,” she finally said. “I couldn’t stay here for that reason.”

Blaze felt as if someone had just knifed him in the gut and he was bleeding to death. His body was numb. He’d laid himself bare and she’d rejected him. He wouldn’t do it again—wouldn’t beg her to stay. He had his pride. He nodded stiffly and then turned away to head back to the bedroom.

“I couldn’t stay here for them,” she said before he could get away. “But I could stay here for you. I will stay here for you. I told you I loved you too. I meant it. I’ve been without a family for too long. You’re my family, Blaze. You’re my husband, for better or worse.”

He let out a long, ragged breath and moved to her, taking her in his arms. “You scared the life out of me. I thought you were leaving for good. I love you.”

“I know you do,” she said. “New York isn’t my home. I knew this place was my home the moment I laid eyes on you. I’ve never told anyone this, but my great-grandmother told me when I was a little girl that I’d meet my perfect match one day. That he’d be my equal in every way, and that there was nothing in this world or the next that could keep us separated. I felt my life shift into focus the moment I saw you. It was as if my world had been tilted and suddenly righted itself. And I just knew.”

“Laurel Valley is always in need of another good cop,” he said. “What do you say to that?”

“I say one step at a time, Sheriff O’Hara. One step at a time. But feel free to love me in the meantime.”

“Always,” he said, leaning down to kiss her.