Nowhere To Run (To Protect And Serve) (26 page)

She hesitated
then sat back down.

“I’m sorry about your brother…and Santiago. I know you loved him.”

It took a moment for her to answer. “No, I loved someone who didn’t exist. An illusion. The person Caesar wanted me to believe he was isn’t anything like who the real Caesar Santiago was. ”

“No, I guess not.”

“I’m sorry I doubted you. I was just so scared. I didn’t know who to trust.”

“It’s okay.” He
pushed himself into a sitting position. His head still throbbed. But the pain in his shoulder felt like someone had poked him with a hot iron.

“Riley, you need to lie still. You’
re body’s been through quite a trauma. You could have died. I don’t think I could ever forgive myself if anything happened to you because of me.”

He reached for her hand
, silencing her with his touch. “I’m fine. Thanks to you, I’m fine.”

She tried to speak
but shook her head.

“
I guess we’ve both been taken in by people we trusted.” Even after all the things she’d gone through, Jordan Scott had an inner beauty that nothing could diminish.

“Yes
,” she said at last.

“So what happens now
? What will you do?”

“I don’t know.
I can’t go back to New York. There are too many memories of Jeremy and…Caesar. And I can’t stay on Longboat. Not now. I guess I’m not sure what to do.”

He squeezed her hand and threw caution to the wind. “How do you feel about the
snow?”

For a moment, their eyes locked. And although there were tears in hers
, she smiled. “What do you mean?”

“Well,
I know this place. It’s small. But everyone knows everyone. And it’s safe. I’ve been thinking that maybe I need a new start as well. I’ve had enough of the big city to last me a lifetime. The Sheriff of Spruce Glen has been after me for years to come work with him. He and my dad are friends. He wants me to take over for him. You should come with me,” he added still holding her gaze.

“
There’s a small hospital -- not really a hospital as much as a clinic.”

“Really. Well, what about the competition
?” she asked seriously.

“They can always use a good doctor like you.”

Jordan burst out laughing and then he got it. “I’m not talking about the clinic. If I remember correctly, there’s a certain diner owner that kind of fancies you, Detective Donovan.”

“All the more reason to stake your claim, don’tcha think? S
et the record straight once and for all.”

He
lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm slowly. Suddenly she grew serious. “Riley, I’m not sure…”

“About what? Me? You can trust me. I promise I’ll never hurt you.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s me. What if I can never trust myself enough to love again?”

The thought of her never returning his love hurt like hell to consider
, but he had to be honest with himself. There would always be that possibility. He’d go into this relationship with his eyes wide open and his heart full of hope. “I’m not normally a betting man, but I know a sure thing when I see it. You’re a sure thing.”

For a moment
, she was speechless and then she smiled. Really smiled and he felt the need to return that smile with all his heart. He tugged on her hand and brought her into the circle of his good arm.

“
So, do you know any place to live in Spruce Glen?” she snuggled closer against him.

“Just so happens I do.
It’s not much. In fact, it’s still a dream in my head. But it has a lot of potential. Especially now.” She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. The minute she kissed him, he knew. They had a lot of potential too.

The End

About The Author

Mary Eason grew up in a small Texas town famous for, well not much of anything, really .Being the baby of the family and quite a bit younger than her brothers and sisters, Mary had plenty of time to entertain herself. Making up stories seem to come natural to her.

As a pre-teen, Mary discovered romance novels and knew instinctively that was what she wanted to do with her over-active imagination.

She wrote her first novel as a teen, (it's tucked away somewhere never to see the light of day), but never really pursued her writing career seriously until a few years later, when she wrote her first romantic comedy and was hooked.

Today, Mary still lives in Texas, and still writes about romance. In fact, she can't think of anything else she'd rather do.