Page 96 of Bad Seed

She leaned against him, listening to the deep rumble of his voice as she fingered the medal around her neck and then turned in his arms.

“Something you said after the shooting has been bothering me. How you said you let me down because you weren’t here to protect me when I needed you, that you’d been baking bread when it happened. I didn’t think that then, and I don’t think that now, and I don’t want you to feel like that. Ever. And then today, I kept wondering how a professional hit man could miss at such close range, and that’s when it hit me. I was wearing the St. Michael medal you gave me when it happened. And I will believe for the rest of my life that you did save me when you gave that to me, and that when I needed help most, I was protected.”

The emotional impact of those words left him speechless. He shook his head in disbelief, slid hishands up the sides of her neck and then to her face, and kissed her. Slowly. Softly. While a storm of their own began to build.

“Ah, Brendan…how I love you. Make love to—”

“Already on it, Sunshine,” he said, and picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom, undressed her, and then himself.

Outside, the psychedelic flashes of lightning were so close and so bright that each flash painted a graffiti-like image of itself upon the walls and onto their naked bodies.

Harley was lost somewhere within the pounding blood rush of her body, holding on to Brendan to keep from flying away. From their first kiss to this moment, now and forever, she’d finally found where she belonged.

And for Brendan, she was always going to be his first thought in the morning and his last thought at night. She made colors brighter and life worth living, and making love to her was the wildest ride of all. No matter how fast he went, she kept up, holding on, trusting him to take care of her.

And like always, the one stroke needed came without warning. The last push. The final thrust that shattered composure and restraint, leaving them spent and breathless, and then the laughter, from the utter joy of such a feeling.

***

The next morning, they packed and left without a word, taking the back way out again for safety’s sake. He was carrying their luggage, and she was bundled up against the cold. As they approached his car, Harley paused.

“What’s that sound?”

He put the luggage in his trunk and then cocked his head to listen. At first, he didn’t know what she was talking about, and then it dawned on him.

“That’s water, running down from the top of Pope Mountain. Big Falls probably looks like Niagara Falls this morning.”

“That’s a frightening sound. It’s almost a roar,” she said, and then got into the car.

As they were driving away, she thought about the day she’d arrived at the inn. She’d come in the front door, and now as they were leaving, they were sneaking out the back.

“I hope you’re ready for all this,” she said.

“All what, darlin’?”

“To have your bachelor world invaded.”

“Way past ready. I’d say I’m at the impatient stage. I’ve been waiting for you all my life. I didn’t know your name or what you looked like, but I was ready. Am ready,” he said. “We’ll be home soon, and now that you’ve finished all the work for Ray, this is your downtime to heal before you enter the melting pot of Wolf Outen’s world.”

“If he buys the inn,” she said.

“He’ll buy it,” Brendan said, and then braked for a red light.

As they were waiting, Harley’s phone signaled a text. She dug it out of her purse and read the text, then started smiling.

“Good news, I take it,” Brendan said.

“He bought the Serenity Inn. He’ll be in touch.”

“Fantastic! Congrats, honey!”

Harley was still smiling and leaning back in the seat, just enjoying the ride, when she remembered. “You know what I left behind? That darned rental car I never used. Will you remind me to call and deal with that tomorrow? Ray was paying for that.”

He nodded. “No worries. They can come get the keys from you and retrieve it themselves. For now, I just want to get you comfortable and settled in the house.”

She glanced at his profile as he drove, thinking how important he’d become to her, and the thought of putting him in another hit man’s crosshairs was horrifying.

“I hope to God the feds figure out who the boss man is. I don’t want you hurt on my behalf. Ever.”

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