Page 24 of Deadly Past

Chapter Six

Wynona looked over at Declan in the middle of telling him about her job and realized he’d fallen asleep. She smiled. Though her work in the NICU was interesting and rewarding, it didn’t compare to the excitement she’d experienced at Bagram.

Declan mumbled something in his sleep and then stretched out on the sofa, his head inches from her. A little too intimate for her fragile resolve.

Wynona rose as quietly as possible and placed a blanket over him. She’d meant what she said about sleep being impossible. And it wasn’t all because of the man coming after her. Declan was responsible for a lot of her sleeplessness.

Wynona picked up the cat and moved to the chair near the fire. Simone had adjusted to her intrusion into her life easily enough. She stroked the cat’s fur and glanced over her shoulder when Declan occasionally murmured.

During their marriage, she’d remembered more than one occasion when he’d wake up in the middle of the night yelling, his eyes alive with panic. Though he never told her what haunted his dreams, Wynona believed it was because of something he’d witnessed in battle. She’d asked him many times to tell her what happened, and yet he refused. He’d wanted to spare her.

Soon, the secrets that stood between them became a wall neither could scale, and their marriage crumbled.

Wynona closed her eyes. No, she wouldn’t cry. She’d wasted far too many tears on a marriage that had been doomed by the two people who should have tried to save it.

The wind howled outside the house with renewed force, and she thought about everything that had happened since she had come to Declan. Soon, the sounds around her faded, and everything except for the past that refused to stay buried any longer was gone.

“Wynona?”

The voice that called her was familiar.

“What?” She brushed at the hand shaking her. “Just a few more minutes.”

“It’s me, Declan.”

Declan. Her husband. Herex-husband.

Her eyes opened and she stared into those eyes that had swept her away from the beginning. She sat up straighter and rubbed her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Declan’s expression softened into a smile. “Nothing’s wrong. Breakfast is ready.” He straightened and stepped back.

She couldn’t believe it, yet the daylight, now visible through the curtained windows, confirmed she’d slept.

“I guess we both were tired,” Declan said with a tinge of humor in his voice.

Simone had abandoned her perch on Wynona’s lap sometime during the night.

“I guess we were.”

Declan held out his hand. Wynona took it and let him pull her up beside him.

They were inches apart. Her heart jumped to her throat as she looked into his eyes. Feelings she’d thought were over rushed to the surface when he cupped her cheek. She didn’t want to still care for him, but she did.

Declan stepped closer. Her eyelashes swept closed when his lips touched hers, and the love still residing in her heart gave in and kissed him back. His kiss was gentle. Familiar. All she’d been missing through the years.

But they weren’t the same people who had fallen in love, and she couldn’t rewrite the past.

“No, Declan, no.” She pushed at his chest. He let her go.

“Sorry.” Declan turned away, dejection in his tone. “I guess I just got caught up in the moment.” He ran his hand through his hair.

It wasn’t all his fault. She’d wanted to kiss him since the second he’d opened the door.

“No, it’s okay. We both got caught up.”

He faced her again. “I guess some things are hard to forget.”

Heat crept up her neck. Showing emotion wasn’t the problem between them. Talking—really talking about what was bothering them—that was a different story.

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