Page 81 of Evening Shadows

Doc’s deep chuckle bounced around the room. “Time won’t move faster because you keep checking it.”

Ken wiped a hand over his face and sighed. Doc was right. His friend kept him company, and he wouldn’t discount the time with him. “Deal. My luck is about to change,” he joked.

Picking up his newly dealt cards, he silently cursed. Another shitty hand. That reminded him. “Did you hear if Jesse talked to Reagan about her swear jar?”

“Oh yeah.” Doc laughed hard, and Ken impatiently waited for more. “Now, I heard this secondhand since you and I came straight here. Anyhow,” Doc continued, “Reagan had been in HQ with Devon. She jumped up when the teams strode in and asked how much money they owed her.”

Ken closed his eyes and laughed. He hoped Cody wasn’t as precocious as Reagan. “What happened?”

“Jesse took her into his office.” He shrugged. “No one knows what was said, but Reagan came and asked for a meeting. Of course the teams complied. She informed them that while they were on ops, it wasn’t okay to cuss, but they didn’t have to pay her. Vaughn said she tacked onto that with unless they wanted to pay her.”

Ken chuckled. “Leave it to her to find a way around what her daddy undoubtedly told her.”

“Do you think you’ll be a parent soon?” Doc asked as though an afterthought while he drew more cards.

Yes, he would. “If she’ll have me.”

“Oh, I think she will.”

His stomach unsettled with nerves. “They’re taking a long time. They left—”

Laughing, Doc cut him off. “I know how long ago they left. Did they put a worry drug in that bag? They probably just got caught in traffic.”

Before he could respond, the door swung open with a force that almost sent it crashing against the wall. Only the mechanism on top of the door stopped it.

Sam, wearing an overly large T-shirt and jeans, came to a screeching halt and stared at him, her eyes never straying to Doc. Her wide-eyed gaze gradually warmed and electricity zinged between them.

While he’d been the one physically injured, he’d worried more about her and the emotional turmoil this whole incident had caused. Maybe asking her to marry him so soon hadn’t been wise, but with her, he didn’t always think right. His mouth tended to run away with itself.

Dropping the cards still in his hand while Doc moved, Ken presented her with one of the widest grins he could muster. He’d only been given a low painkiller, so the smile truly came from within.

Moving farther into the room, she halted at his side, leaned down and kissed him as if no one else was in the room. Maybe Doc had already left. He didn’t care.

Her lips brushed his in a soft, lingering kiss, enough to set a tingling through his body. Much more of this, he’d yank her on the bed with him and show her how much he loved her.

“Now that’s the best greeting I’ve received since I was held here against my will.” While not completely true—the last part—it sounded good.

“I can’t imagine how the team or the hospital staff would greet you, but I do hope this was best.” Her eyes were alight with mischief.

With their gazes locked, love and desire flowed in a perfect balance between the calm of a lake and the raging of waves of an ocean. He’d given up so many years with her, but finally, he had her.

Reaching out, she took his hand and threaded her fingers through his before she sat in the chair beside his bed. “I would’ve been here sooner, but—”

“It’s okay. You’re here now. How are you? And how’s Cody?”

Her gaze remained riveted on their joined hands, and something gripped his insides. What did she fear?

“We’re fine. We’re going to stay at Jesse’s for now.”

“That’s a good idea.”

The sadness on her face when she finally looked up at him caught his breath. “I’m sorry, Ken. I—”

Hoping to reassure her, he squeezed her hand and smiled. “Sam, don’t. There’s nothing to be sorry about. Not for Beverly’s actions or yours.”

“But—”

He cut her off and steeled his voice to stop this craziness. “What’s done is done. Some things don’t need revisiting.”

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