Chapter 18

18

Snow-gilded mountains and hunter-green trees slipped past as Caleb drove Grace back to his home. The pain in her wrist had subsided to a faint ache and her mind roamed free with the sweep of landscape outside her window.

He drove with his sleeves rolled up, revealing muscled forearms that made her stomach feel flip-floppy whenever she looked at them. What would it be like for this to be her life? To sit here with this man at her side? An inviolable unit, the two of them against the world.

He had hustled her into his truck after they left the vets. She'd sensed something was wrong, but he'd remained tight-lipped the entire drive, his foot heavy on the gas pedal once they hit the open road, his gaze frequently flicking to the rearview mirror.

She pulled the sleeves of her coat down over her bandaged wrist. Bringing him into her life had already exposed him to danger. She couldn't increase that risk by letting him in any further, by sharing her burden. It was hers to carry, her way of atoning for the mistakes she'd made. Besides, if he knew what she had been party to, she wouldn't blame him if he walked away, if he offered her up to Richard.

Her resolve strengthened. She would not pay attention to how being close to him made her heart race and her skin tingle. Instead, she would protect him. It was the least she could do—not drag him down with her.

Finally, he pulled up the steep track to his cabin, the afternoon sunlight slanting through the windscreen as he brought the truck to a halt.

Grace reached for the door handle, but his hand landed on her knee, stilling her. "Let's take a walk."

"A walk?"

"Hmm." He contemplated the forest surrounding them, his gaze alert and assessing. "We need to talk."

"That sounds ominous."

He shook his head and smiled. "I don't bite. C'mon."

He let Dolly out of the house and she bounded ahead, her paws leaving delicate imprints in the soft snow. They followed her up a narrow path flanked by towering evergreens and scraggy bushes dotted with clusters of berries. Caleb took hold of her hand, the warmth of his fingers locking around hers triggering heated shivers down her spine.

As they walked the trail, his steady presence beside her was a reassuring anchor. The only sound was the soft compaction of snow beneath their boots. It was a soothing silence that didn't demand conversation, a quiet comfort where words were unnecessary. She'd heard her girlfriends talk about moments like this, but experiencing it firsthand was a revelation. A sense of peace settled over her. It was enough to be here with him and share the moment.

Sleety rain began to fall, forcing her to pull up her hood.

"Just a passing squall. We can take shelter up here." Caleb took her hand and guided her off the path through knees deep bilberry bushes and brambles.

At the top of the incline, a majestic pine reached out with wide branches. Caleb ducked low and pulled her under the tree's protection, cocooning them from the rest of the world. A carpet of soft needles cushioned her steps. Grace breathed deep the fresh scent of pine mingled with the earthy aroma of damp soil, intensified by the rain that pattered against the needled branches. "This is beautiful."

"My brothers and I used to come up here when we were kids." He tilted his head back to admire the spread of branches above their heads. "We used to just hang out here." He pressed a hand to the bark, as if the touch would reconnect him with his memories.

"The world held so much promise then. Not like real life." The words fell from her lips. A truth that she hadn't wanted to speak, especially when she registered the worry in his eyes.

He lowered his head, and when he looked at her again, there was fire in his gaze. "There were men in Brad's clinic looking for you. Claimed to be FBI."

"What?" Her heart skittered.

"They were lying." He scrubbed one hand over his mouth. "But this ex of yours. He's extremely determined. I need to know why."

They had been in the surgery. So close. Despite the moisture in the air, her mouth felt parched, making it hard to swallow. "Richard is a man who likes to control everything. Including the people in his life."

"That's it. Control? He's pissed that you left, that you're no longer under his control? This is so much more than that." His gaze searched her face, looking for answers she could not give.

Fury lit inside her. It was so unfair she should meet Caleb now when she could not have him, when to do so would only put him at risk.

She leaned against the tree, her knees weak. "I don't want to put you in the path of danger."

"That's not your choice, Grace."

She sighed, the ache of exhaustion deep in her bones. "Richard Hudson is a businessman. Not a good one. He…"

The gentle drum of rain surrounded them, an auditory shield between them and the world. She fisted her hands. It would feel so good to share this weight she carried. Just a little, because soon she would be gone, right?

"He works in shipping. He imports…" Grace chewed on her bottom lip. She had missed all the signs. Her ignorance had cost so many lives. Shame burned deep in her heart. "He deals drugs." She braced herself for his reaction.

"Fuck, Grace." A warm hand curled around the chilled skin on the back of her neck. "I'm so sorry."

She wiped at her eyes. "What do you mean, you're sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who messed up. I was oblivious." She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, her chest heaving with the effort of breathing, guilt threatening to suffocate her.

"What he did was not your fault."

"He wasn't always like this. Not long after we first met, he found out his mother was dying." She stopped, casting her mind back to those terrible days. His mother, a shell of her former self, the cancer eating away at her till there was nothing left. "There was a problem with getting the pain meds she needed. He did what he had to do, but it wasn't enough. She died, but by then he was in deep and he chose money." She fumbled in her pocket for a Kleenex, wiped her eyes with furious motion, the weight of her confession hanging in the air. "I think I knew deep down what was going on, but I was too scared to admit it. Too scared of what I would have to do if I knew the truth. But one day. I'd had enough. So, I waited till he was out of the house and went through his things. I cracked the stupidly simple password on his laptop and confirmed what I'd known all along. I left and went straight to the police that day."

"And?"

"He's scared. I know too much about his business. I was foolish and should have realized sooner—leaving would never be an option. I know too much."

She exhaled. This much was the truth. Enough for him to know without dragging him into the whole sorry mess.

"Shit." He ran his hand down the tree trunk.

"Yes." She hugged her sides. "When my car is sorted. I'll be out of your hair and?—"

He pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her. "Let's take each day as it comes."

Her lips felt hypersensitive when he removed his fingers. Unfamiliar heat curled low in her belly. Caleb gave her the first glimmer of hope she'd felt in years. It was easy to imagine having more with him. All the things she'd thought would never be hers.

He patted the tree while Dolly snuffled through mounds of needles and leaf matter. "When I was a kid, I thought this place was magical. I would come here when I was upset, climb and just sit till I felt better." He shrugged, his face sheepish. "Maybe I read too much of Lord of the Rings. You can see right down the valley from up there. It always made me feel better. Let me show you." He headed behind the tree where lower branches protruded. "It's an easy climb. Almost like a staircase. You'll be fine."

He scaled several feet and reached out one hand to her. "Grace?"

She hesitated for a moment. Remembering who she was, the pain and trauma that she wore around her neck like a millstone. But here, the tree guarded them from the world. She tucked her Kleenex in her pocket and followed him, her face pressed to the rough bark, her good hand pulling her upward while her injured arm provided balance. Slowly, she tracked his climb. It had been years since she climbed a tree, but the memory of her own childhood and disappearing in the woods to escape the confines of home and her parents arguing bubbled to the surface.

Perhaps she and Caleb were more alike than she realized.

He stopped about ten feet up, where a few rough boards created a makeshift platform away from the world and her troubles. Here the branches were sparser and as he promised, she could see down the length of the valley. The smudgy gray twist of the road, the deep green of the forest dappled with white under a pale wash of sky.

"Look, come see." He stretched an arm out and looped it around her waist, securing her against his body.

"You were right." Her breath rose and condensed in the thin air. "It is magical."

He pointed to a wind of cobalt ribbon. "See. That's the river as it heads down to Aurora Cove."

Grace followed his gaze. The view was breathtaking, but all she could focus on was his touch. The hardness of his body next to hers. Tiny flutters exploded in her belly, making it hard to breathe. "It's gorgeous."

"It is." The scruff on his chin bumped against her temple, a delicious scratch that melted the tiny flutters in her belly into liquid heat.

For a moment she closed her eyes, soaking him in and the sensations he triggered in her body. She had felt so cold and locked down for so long, had thought that Richard had killed everything alive in her heart.

Strong fingers grazed under her chin. Warm lips skimmed hers. A kiss. So soft she might mistake it for a butterfly.

A tiny gasp escaped her.

"Grace." His mouth claimed hers. Not gentle this time but fierce, his kiss parting her lips with a fervor so potent she almost passed out. Strong arms braced her body securely, preventing her from falling as she pressed her hands to his chest, absorbing the powerful thud of his heart under her fingertips. Gently, he cupped her head, stroking one fingertip down the outside edge of her ear. Raw desire exploded within her, unleashed, leaving her legs trembling, every inch of her skin sensitized.

Above, thunder grumbled, a deep baritone that rumbled deep through her body. Caleb broke the kiss, his head lifting as lightning illuminated their hidden position. "We should head home before the rain comes down." Below on the ground, Dolly barked her agreement, her tail wagging furiously.

He helped Grace down with careful hands, but she barely noticed. Her mind was ablaze. She'd expected retreat, an apology that he'd overstepped the mark.

But it hadn't come.

Caleb had not apologized for kissing her.

She followed him home, rain soaking her hair, her lips bruised, everything inside her alive for the first time in years.