Page 101 of Easy Reunion
Laugh.
“All I ask is don’t lose yourself in that godforsaken state.” She gives a mock shudder in my arms, which causes me to roar before her words sober me with the fierceness they’re spoken. “If I have to go back there without you by my side, someone’s going to wish I hadn’t.”
All humor’s wiped from my face when I lean down toward her upturned one. Kelsey’s jaw is so tight it might break. I smile at her tenderly before I brush my lips gently against hers.
Leaving her is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, even if it’s for the right reasons. But now that I know I no longer have to fear the truth damaging the love in her eyes, I’ll do everything in my power to get back to her as soon as I can, because now the thought of even one night without holding her is more painful than not knowing where she was for fifteen years.
“Come on.” I slide Kelsey off my lap before standing. Reaching down, I take her hand and pull her to her feet. “Let’s get some sleep. I want to spend time with you before I have to leave tomorrow night.”
“That sounds perfect.” We make our way out of the study, turning lights off along the way. On the way to our bedroom—God, I really need to ask her to move in when I get back, I think ruefully—Kelsey stops in her tracks.
“Ry?”
“Yes, love?” I lean down and kiss her shoulder just as we’re about to cross the threshold to the master.
“I learned a long time ago that grief and pain don’t ever let you go.” Turning to face me, she says seriously, “I want you to talk to Morgan about how to cope when you get back. Time only helps if you get the right tools to deal with things like this; otherwise, you’ll be yanked back every time something like this happens.”
While my stomach lurches at the idea, my mind knows she’s right. My heart, exhausted over the day’s emotional roller coaster I put myself through, merely forces my head to nod.
“Promise me.” Her head collides with my heart as she leans forward.
My hand comes up to press her closer if that’s even possible. I’d imprint myself on her soul if I could. “I promise.”
A shudder runs through her. “I wish I could remain calm enough to be the person who carries all your burden, but I fear that if you give it all to just me that I’m going to go back and kill them all. Painfully.” Her eyes lift to mine, and I see a barely banked fury that oddly sends a wave of tenderness through me and kicks up a lick of fire through my veins when I didn’t think that was possible tonight.
Then for the second time this evening, she surprises me when she declares, “Besides, despite looking good in red, I don’t want to wear the color for the rest of my life when I’m considered a high-risk inmate. I’m just sayin’.”
Because on a night when I expected to be desperately trying to forget who I was, I’m grinning as I hold on to the best part of who I am. “So noted.”
“Ry?” Her soft voice burns through me, scoring my heart in a million ways.
“Yes, my love?” We approach the bed like two shipwrecked sailors and fall onto it fully clothed. Kicking off my shoes, I pull her practically on top of me. “I don’t want to let go all night,” I murmur when she squawks before settling against my chest.
There’s a moment of silence before she whispers, “Maybe I should have pushed things between us sooner?”
What she’s asking is whether or not I forgive her for her accusations earlier.
Rolling us to our sides, I pull her tightly against me. “Loving is new for both of us. I was afraid of losing you by telling you the truth, and you were afraid to ask for it,” I say.
“What happened to you will never stop me from loving the person you are.”
I groan as my lips capture hers briefly. We’re both too drained for more than this simple reaffirmation of our love. “I think we’ve both learned something important,” I conclude.
Kelsey laughs softly. “Yeah, when you start ignoring me, pick a fight. It seems to get you talking more easily than asking if anything’s wrong. Hey, do you think that’s the lawyer in you?”
I snicker before turning serious. “I found out losing you would gut me, Kels,” I admit.
“Me too. I think we also found out that it’s safe to be vulnerable with each other.”
“And I know you’re my safe place, no matter what. I can talk to you about anything.” The wonderment of that echoes in my voice.
Her hand squeezes me where it’s worked its way under my dress shirt to rest against my skin. “You would think you would have learned that after the first time we made love, but I get it.” She silences me with a quick kiss when I start to protest. “As you’re much more of a linear thinker, being a lawyer and all, I’ll explain it to you.” Rising on an elbow in the dark, she softly says the words that first fascinated me said by a sad girl with gray eyes. “‘The worst thing that’s happening to you is the best thing that will ever happen to someone else. All you can do is move past it. After all, if life were meant to be easy, I’d have already won the game.’ What you don’t realize is that you already won, Ry. And now, you’re about to coach someone else to win—again.” Brushing my lips once more, she snuggles deep in my arms while I contemplate the darkness for a while.
Her breathing evens out when I realize something profound I want to share with her. I whisper it into the dark of the night instead. “We both won.”
Her sleepy “I know” makes me hold her closer against my heart with the knowledge this is forever.
Kelsey’s going to have me on my knees soon; I damn well know it. I don’t have to kiss my days as a bachelor goodbye; I’m sending them off with a bon voyage party. If it wasn’t for what I’m about to face, I’d already be planning the most expedient way to tie her life to mine.
And somehow, I’m blessed because I know when I go back tomorrow to face my past, my future will be waiting right here for me.
