Uncharted Waters (27 page)
Authors: Linda Castillo
She would never forget the way he'd struggled up that steep bank with Kevin in his arms, like a soldier carrying a fallen comrade. He'd sprinted across the street, then burst through the doors and taken Kevin directly into the emergency room. She wondered how he could see himself as anything but the hero he was.
“How's he doing?”
She spun at the sound of Drew's voice. Her heart
stuttered at the sight of him standing in the doorway. Mussed hair. Damp clothes that clung to him. Grim expression. Even in the dim light she could see that he was watching her with an intensity that unnerved her. His mouth was set into a thin line. Someone had given him a towel, which he'd used and then draped over his broad shoulders.
“He's doing fine,” she said, amazed that her voice sounded so normal when she felt as if she were coming apart inside.
He glanced at Kevin, a sigh sliding between his lips. “He's a fighter. Like his mom.”
She didn't know what to say about that. “They want to keep him overnight for observation.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Are you okay?”
She choked out a sound that sounded vaguely like a laugh. “I'm a wreck.”
“You did great today,” he pointed out. “You really kept your head.”
“I came close to losing it.” She laughed again. “I can't stop shaking.”
“Post-adrenaline jitters.”
A loud and uncomfortable silence ensued. As much as she wanted him to stay and talk, having him so close was almost too much to bear. She was trying to decide if she should ask him to leave when she realized she hadn't yet thanked him for saving her son's life.
“Drew...”
“Alison...”
They spoke simultaneously and then laughed.
Taking a calming breath, she moved closer to him and forced her gaze to his. “Whatever happens next...I
mean between us, I want you to know what you did today... It means the world to me.”
He lifted a hand as if to wave off her statement, but she stopped him. She needed to say this. Not only for her and Kevin. But for Drew.
“You saved my son's life.” Her voice broke and for several long seconds she couldn't find her voice. “He's my whole world, Drew. I don't know how I can ever thank you for saving his life.”
His jaw flexed with tension, and he looked away for a moment. When his gaze met hers, she saw an emotion in the depths of his eyes she couldn't quite read. Something that touched her own emotions, and she felt them building in her chest, a storm that would burst if she wasn't careful.
Because she didn't want to cry in front of him, she turned away to stare blindly at the rain-streaked window.
“Alison.”
When she didn't turn to him, he put his hand gently on her shoulder and turned her to face him. “Hey, what's with the tears?” he said gently.
She raised her eyes to his. “This isn't easy. I mean, you don't have to do this. You don't have to stay.”
“Alisonâ”
“In fact,” she cut in, “it might be easier if you just left.”
His eyes darkened, intensified. “I'm not going anywhere. I've got something to get off my chest. I want you to hear it.”
She stared at him, her pulse skittering wildly, her legs trembling.
“I haven't exactly been honest with you. I haven't
been honest with Kevin. For God's sake, Alison, I haven't even been honest with myself.”
“You're the most honest person I know.”
He looked down at the floor, as if gathering his courage, his resolve, then his gaze bore into her. “What's between us...” He seemed to struggle with the words for a moment. “I thought my feelings for you were wrong. Because of my friendship with Rickâ”
“Drew, please. You don't have to explainâ”
“Yes, I do,” he interjected. “I need to say this. Damn it, Alison, I should have said it a long time ago.”
Stepping close to her, he reached out and cupped the side of her face with his hand. “I came for you and Kevin today for one reason,” he began. “It doesn't have a damn thing to do with my being a hero, or even that I felt an overwhelming need to do the right thing.”
She stared at him, not understanding.
“I came for you today because I love you.”
The words struck her like a gust of wind, strong enough to knock her off her feet, powerful enough to suck the breath from her lungs. She stared at him, dumbfounded, overjoyed, a thousand emotions tangling in her heart.
“I've loved you since the day I met you,” he said. “I don't know what that means in terms of our relationship. I don't know where it will lead us. But it comes straight from my heart. It's honest.” He let out a breath that shuddered slightly. “I didn't want it to happen. I fought it with everything I had.” He shrugged. “It happened anyway.”
“Sometimes there's a fine line between right and wrong,” she said.
“It took almost losing you for me to realize what we have is right.”
She gazed into his eyes, felt the floor shift sharply beneath her. “I honestly believe that some things were meant to be.”
“This is one of them,” he said. “I was blind for not seeing that sooner.”
“You had some issues to work through.”
“I hurt you. I'm sorry. I never meant to do that.”
“You thought you were protecting me.” She was vaguely aware of tears on her cheeks. For the life of her she couldn't figure out why she was crying. Kevin was going to be all right. Drew loved her.
The knowledge brought her a joy she hadn't felt for a very long time, a peace she had forgotten existed.
Drew caught one of the tears with his thumb. “Come here.”
Alison stepped closer to him. She sighed when he put his arms around her. Leaning her head against his chest, she heard the steady thrum of his heart and an overwhelming sense of coming home rippled through her.
“You were right, Alison. I hadn't dealt with Rick's death,” he said. “That's why I couldn't handle my feelings for you.” Pulling away slightly, he looked deeply into her eyes. “I felt guilty because I was here and he wasn't.”
“You don't have to feel guilty for being alive. For being happy.”
“I know that now.”
“All of us deal with grief differently, Drew. Through all of this, there's one thing we never doubted: We loved Rick. He was a good man. A good husband to me. A good friend to you. A good father to Kevin. And both of us loved him very much.”
He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I know.”
“If I've learned anything in the last four years, it's that life is stronger than death. Life doesn't wait for us. It keeps barreling on, sometimes faster than we're able to follow.”
Easing her to arm's length, he leaned forward and kissed her. “Maybe I've got some catching up to do.”
She smiled up at him, her heart bursting with joy. “Kevin and I will make sure you're up to speed very quickly.”
“That brings me to my next question.”
“Oh, yeah? What's that?”
“I thought it might be nice if we...you know, got married.”
“Nice, huh?” She rolled her eyes. “You really know how to make a girl feel special.”
He shifted his weight, looking uncomfortable and adorable, and Alison could barely withhold a smile. He grinned, but she could see the glint of emotion in his eyes. “It would make me the happiest man in the world if you said yes.”
“That's more like it.” She leaned close to him and kissed him on the mouth. “Do I get to think about it?”
“The offer's only good for the next five seconds.”
“In that case I guess I'd better say yes.”
Pulling her against him, he pressed his mouth to hers. Alison could feel him trembling against her. She could feel her own emotions ebbing and flowing. She was aware of her heart beating in perfect time with his. The rightness of the moment took her breath away.
“Mommy? Drew?”
Alison and Drew turned simultaneously to see Kevin sitting up in bed. His hair was mussed and he was looking at them with a combination of awe and confusion and a child's unending curiosity.
“Hey, sprout,” Drew said cheerfully.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
“My throat hurts.”
“The doctor said that would happen, honey. Would you like some water?”
“No.” Kevin gave Drew a truly perplexed look. “Why were you just kissing my mommy?”
Drew grinned at him. “Well, it's kind of a long story, sprout.”
Looking embarrassed, Kevin looked at Alison. “Mommy?”
She smiled at her son, then at Drew. “We've got some really happy news for you, honey.”
Taking Alison's hand in his, Drew settled onto the bed and looked at the little boy who would soon become his son. Alison sat down beside him, and he felt a sharp tug of emotion tighten in his chest. My family, he thought, stunned by how much those two words meant to him.
And for the first time in four years, Drew Evans knew peace.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this story be sure to check out
USA TODAY
bestselling author
DELORES FOSSEN
first three installments in her edge-of-your seat miniseries
APPALOOSA PASS RANCH!
Connect with us on
Harlequin.com
for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
ISBN: 9781459296381
Uncharted Waters
Copyright © 2003 by Harlequin Books S.A.
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ⢠are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
