Page 19 of Saved By the Sergeant

Utterly satisfied, I sit back and grin. “Did I do good?”

“Did you do good?” He reaches up and pulls me to his chest. “Sweetheart, you need to know something.” He tucks my head under his chin, stroking my shoulder with his thumb. “Everything about you is surprising, astonishing, and beyond wonderful.”

My heart pounds into his side. “I don’t know about that.”

“That’s the beauty of it, sweetheart.” He drags my body on top of his and cups my face in his hands. “I know. And that’s all that matters.”

Tears fill my eyes. “Thank you, Archie. Thank you for forgiving me for nearly blinding you. Thank you for taking me into your home during the storm. Thank you for helping me through a difficult time…” I lower my lashes, “thank you for making me feel special.”

His arms wind around me, crushing me to his chest. “Baby, you are special. I’m just sorry you went so long, never knowing it or feeling it. Anybody who ever made you feel like you weren’t or told you weren’t is an idiot. Thank you for letting me in, sweetheart.” He kisses my hair. You will never be alone again,” he whispers in my ear.

My pulse races as I realize I’m lying in the arms of a man who says what he means and means what he says. There is no guessing with Archer Bentley, no weighing where I stand. I bury my face in his neck, wishing I had a different life. I’m going tomake the most of it while I’m here. I’m going to remember each and every moment to last me forever.

But my heart is breaking.

He’s the man I never knew I wanted.

And the man I can never have.

“The snow’s stopped.I’m going outside to shovel. Would you like to join me?” Archie walks into the kitchen to kiss me on the back of my neck.

“Give me five minutes.” I turn and hold out the sauce spoon. “Taste this.”

“Delicious.” He smiles. “How about another spoonful?”

“No.” I turn back to the stove. “It will spoil your dinner. Let me finish putting this casserole together. I’ll pop it in the oven and help you shovel.”

“Excellent.” He gives me another peck. “I’ll go grab you a pair of my boots.”

“Umm, I think they’ll be way too big.”

“I’ll stuff the toes with socks. You can’t go out in shoes, sweetheart. There’s nearly three feet of snow out there.”

“You’re going to laugh at me,” I fake pout.

“Yup.” He swats my behind. “Sure am. But we’ll have fun.” He winks.

Gizmo runs over to sit at my feet. “You want some too, don’t you, boy?” I scratch his head. “Here.” I drop him a piece of hamburger. He scoffs it up, then jumps on my legs for more. “You are just like your daddy.” My heart sinks as I think about Archie being a father. Before I burst into tears, I quickly push the thought out of my head.

But it doesn’t stop my bottom lip from trembling as I pour sauce over the shells. I quickly fold in the meat and cheese, sprinkle the top with my secret blend of herbs, and slide it into the oven to bake for an hour.

As I glance out the window, a heavy weight sits in the pit of my stomach. Archie’s waving a shovel in the air, wearing a big goofy grin. I wave back, trying my best to smile, then spin around, closing my eyes to hold my tears in.

Then it hits me like a train.

I love him.

And as soon as the road is clear, I’m going to have to leave him.

10

ARCHIE

“You’re supposedto be shoveling— not building a snowman.” I toss a snowball at Gennie’s backside.

“I did shovel.” she clomps over to a pine tree, breaking off two branches for the snowman’s arms. “But walking around in these size twenty boots is too dangerous for hard labor.”

“Babe, they're size fourteen, not twenty. And I stuffed the toes pretty good, didn’t I?”

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