Page 81 of Murder in Calusa Cove
“You’ve always been so humble.” She let out a slight chuckle. “I’ve always wanted siblings, and now I have a half-sister. And the man I’ve always thought of as kind of a dad is in love with her.” She leaned forward, taking his hand. “Don’t deny it.”
“I’m not,” Hayes said. “But like I told your mom, it’s complicated.”
“Chloe loves you, too, you know. So, I don’t see how.”
Leave it to Fedora to point out the obvious. She was always good like that. “We’ve both got a world of hurt between us. She spent her adult life chasing her twin’s killer, and I’ve?—”
“Spent your life hiding from feeling loved.”
He swallowed his breath. His heart raced. “I guess I never really thought of it like that.”
“I remember one night, about a month before you left. Dawson, Keaton, and Fletcher were at the house. I was supposed to be in my room doing homework, but I was sitting in the hallway, listening. They all asked you what you were afraid of. I didn’t really understand your answer.”
“I’m not sure I remember what I said.”
“You told them you weren’t afraid of anything, except maybe hurting me, because you didn’t know how to be the kind of person I needed. That you didn’t love my mom, and that wasn’t fair.”
“Jesus, I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
“It’s okay.” Fedora squeezed his hand. “Thing was, we never felt unloved by you, which is why I never understood it. Maybe you didn’t love my mom the way you love Chloe, but for the short time you were with us, love filled our home. You taught me what unconditional love looks like. Well, you and my mom. When I met my fiancé, he oddly reminded me of you. He’s logical, and sometimes it makes me nuts, but he’s always quietly there. Kind of like you.”
Before Hayes could respond, the door opened again.
Chloe stood in the doorway, her expression tight with unspoken emotion, but her eyes—those eyes—were focused only on him.
Fedora stood, glancing between them. “I’ve got to get back to my mom.” She touched Hayes’s hand, then gave Chloe a nod as she slipped out.
Chloe shut the door softly behind her and crossed the room. “You scared the hell out of me,” she whispered, sinking into the chair Fedora had just left.
Hayes reached for her hand. “Yeah,” he rasped. “I scared the hell out of myself, too.”
Chloe laced her fingers with his, careful not to disturb the IV taped to his wrist. His hand was warm, rough, calloused—alive. And that was the only thing keeping her from breaking apart.
“You shouldn’t have stepped in front of that gun,” she whispered.
“You would’ve done the same for me.”
“Doesn’t make it any less reckless.” She bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes stinging again. “Hayes… if that bullet had been?—”
“But it wasn’t.” His thumb brushed the back of her hand. “I’m here.”
Her throat tightened. “You can’t do that to me. You can’t leave me before we even figure out what this is.”
He let out a soft breath, his gaze never leaving hers. “We know what this is, Chloe. It’s time to say it. We don’t need a big romantic moment. That’s not us.”
“It’s not the right time,” she said quickly, because part of her was still terrified to hear it. Still scared that speaking it aloud would make it fragile. Breakable.
But Hayes shook his head. He shifted, wincing slightly, then reached up to cup her cheek. “I love you.”
It landed like a shot in the dark—clean, true, devastating in its honesty.
“I didn’t expect it,” he continued. “I didn’t go looking for it. Hell, I tried to convince myself I couldn’t feel it. But it’s been there. And when I thought I was going to die tonight, the only thing I regretted was not saying it before they put me on that boat and drove off.”
She swallowed hard. “I’ve been in love with you since the day we argued about tide patterns, and you smiled like it was the best part of your week.”
His eyes softened. “I remember that.”
“You were so damn sure I was wrong,” she said with a wet laugh. “You’re still wrong, by the way.”
