Page 59 of Turbulent Fires

I pull away, take a small blanket from the bag, and set it on the floor. I sit and pull her into my lap to continue rubbing her body, immensely satisfied at seeing her skin returning to a nice tan. She was looking far too blue for my liking.

“I thought I was going to lose you, Wolf,” she says, fear still in her voice.

“Oh, Audrey, I thought I was going to fail you.”

“You could never fail me.”

“You have far too much faith in me.”

She leans back and looks me in the eyes before lifting a hand and cupping my cheek. “When the plane started falling, all I could think was I wanted more time with you, I needed to be with you, and it couldn’t end like this.”

My throat is burning as she bares her soul. I can’t give her anything less. I lean in and give her a soft kiss before pulling back and realizing my throat’s on fire, not from the smoke, but from the words that need to come out.

“I love you,” I tell her. “I’ve been in love with you from nearly the beginning, even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself. But as that plane was falling, all I could think about was you, and what you mean to me. I love you.”

Her eyes are bright as she looks at me. A smile fills her lips as tears fall from her eyes. She leans in and kisses me before pulling back and sniffling.

“I love you, too, Wolf, more than I ever imagined I could love someone. I’ve fought it, run from it, and tried to avoid it, but I don’t want to anymore. Coming this close to death made me realize how limited our time could be. I don’t want to run anymore.”

She leans against me, and we hold each other, accepting this change in our relationship and knowing we’ll never be the same after this experience. We love each other, and neither of us is holding back any longer. It shouldn’t have taken a near-death experience to realize this, but I’m done hiding. I’m hers, and that will never change.

We’re together, and from this moment on, we’ll face all of life’s challenges as one. There will be bumps in the road, but I’m no longer scared. If we can make it through this, there’s nothing we can’t face, as long as we do it together.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Wolf

The fire glows like a beast on the horizon, lighting up the trees in surreal flickers of gold and orange. It feels like the entire universe is burning, but inside this little hunting shelter, everything’s hushed. The only sound is the low crackle of the contained fire and the occasional pop of something collapsing in the flames.

Audrey’s curled beside me, wrapped in one of the ugly metallic emergency blankets, her hair damp but rapidly drying, her skin warm and smelling of smoke and adrenaline. I’ve never felt more alive than I do now.

“How long do you think it will take them to reach us?”

I let out a chuckle. “Well, considering the people we know, I’d be surprised if it takes much longer. I’m sure the entire US Army’s been sent by now... not for me, but for you.”

She rolls her eyes. “You’re pretty damn important yourself, Wolf.”

“Okay, I have to admit my brothers are most likely freaking the hell out.”

“It’s wonderful having so many people love us.”

“Yeah, there have been times I’ve felt smothered by it, but right now, I’ve never been happier knowing I can’t easily disappear. As a teen, that wasn’t something I was pleased about.”

She laughs. “I shouldn’t find anything humorous right now, but my heart’s filled with so much joy at being able to love you that I’m having a difficult time being sad.”

“We can feel joy at our love and sadness for the land around us at the same time. No one can tell us what we’re supposed to be feeling.”

She pauses. “I’ve never been afraid I was going to die before. You were amazing handling that plane, Wolf.”

“I should’ve tried to land to the left of where we hit, then there wouldn’t be a fire,” I tell her. She shakes her head.

“You did amazing. Don’t doubt yourself. You kept your cool when so many others would’ve crashed, and no one would’ve walked away. You saved both of our lives. I’ll never let you forget it.”

I know better than to argue with her, so I quit trying. We can argue about it when we’re far away from here, tucked safely into a warm bed with the fire contained. For now, I’m just grateful to have this place and this woman alive and mostly well. We’ll make it through this just as we’ll make it through many journeys in life from this moment forward, some good, some great, and some bad. That’s life.

“You know, I wasn’t in fear of dying. I was in fear of losing you.”

“That’s exactly how I felt,” I say.

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