Page 93 of Trapped with the Covert Ops Soldier

His eyebrows lifted, then his grin settled into a satisfied smile. Averysatisfied smile. “Doing this,” He pointed at the boat and the water. “hasn’t brought up any difficult memories?”

“No.” She glanced around at the stillness and quiet. “This, you might say, is my happy place.”

He nodded as if that was the answer he was expecting. “Good.” He dropped his gaze and stuck his hand into one pocket.

Was he worried for her?

“I’ve been talking to that psychologist you suggested over the internet. I’ll be doing twice weekly internet calls with her for a long while. She’s pretty good.”

He met her gaze again and nodded. He pulled a closed fist out of his pocket and held it out.

Her brows came together. “What?”

He waggled his fist. “Hold out your hand.”

With a gusty sigh, she did as he asked.

He dropped two gold nuggets onto her palm.

As soon as the metal hit her skin, she shivered and her hand gained ten times more weight than it should have.

She stared at the nuggets. This was blood money, no more, no less, and she wanted no part of them.

“Throw them,” he said, his expression intent. “As hard as you can.”

She looked at the water, as flat as glass in every direction. Under it was the flooded remains of the mine and town and all the people the water had claimed for its own.

The gold made her palm itch with an icy sizzle that traveled up her arm and across her body. A wind crossed the lake to whirl around her and it spun the little boat in a lazy circle. It carried the sounds of birds and insects, the mountain’s voice, a repeating whisper of names the living could never quite make out.

“Throw them,” Smitty urged her again. “Throw them, and all the ghosts you’ve been carrying around,away. They were never your burden to begin with. It’s time to let them rest.”

She stared, her breathing fast and shallow, at Smitty’s too bright eyes, then at the shining fortune on the palm of her hand.

Her fingers closed around the gold, then with a scream that came from the deepest pit of her gut, she threw them as hard as she could across the water.

The nuggets fell, one, then the other, into the water without a splash or a sound.

Abby stared at the water for a long second, then two, before she burst into tears. A moment later Smitty was there, holding her in his strong arms, whispering how strong she was, how brave, how much he loved her.

They were gone. An aching weight she hadn’t known she was carrying, composed of the guilt of all the souls she hadn’t been able to save.Gone.

“Why couldn’t I let them go until now?” she asked in a watery voice.

“I don’t know. Maybe you weren’t ready. Maybe you needed some time to let everything work itself out in the back of your head. Maybe you needed to know you’re not alone.” He kissed her cheeks, then nuzzled his nose against her temple.

She pulled back so she could meet his gaze. “You are unexpectedly wise sometimes.”

He tilted his head to one side. “I can’t tell if that was a compliment or a complaint.”

His crooked smile made her want to kiss him and the feel of his hands on her body was a sensation she never wanted to give up.

She laughed, for the first time in months she was completely free, and there was only one thing she wanted to do. “Will you marry me?”

He blinked a few times, then stuck one finger in his ear. “Excuse me? I don’t think I heard you right.”

“Marry me,” she said. “Be my best friend, my lover for always, my companion in this crazy life.”

A grin spread across his face, brighter than the morning sun. “Hell, yes.” He kissed her for long minutes before picking up the oars to row them back to shore. Somehow, the boat had floated almost half of the way back on its own.

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