Page 50 of Wandering Souls

“I’ve been a workaholic most of my adult life,” he confessed.

She didn’t look concerned by that at all. Not like his ex-wife. “Always trying to catch the bad guy, huh?”

He nodded. “To the detriment of my personal life, unfortunately.”

Her brows drew close together as she frowned and her hand covered his. “Is that why you’re here in Wills Crossing?”

Her genuine curiosity encouraged him to talk. He remembered the trust she’d put in him by opening up and knew he had to honor her courage with a little of his own. “When I became a cop, I threw myself into my work. Made detective at a young age and yes, caught the bad guys, but it cost me my marriage. Viv wanted a family but I wanted to wait, get a few big scalps under my belt before I settled down. Turns out, she found comfort in the arms of my best friend and started that family without me.”

Abi’s eyes pulled wide. “Oh, Ray, that’s awful.”

He shrugged. “It was my own fault. I was too focused on my career. I didn’t see what was right in front of me.”

“No.” She shook her head and squeezed his hand. “You can’t take responsibility for what she did.”

Maybe not entirely, but if he’d committed himself to Viv as much as he had to the job, he’d still have a wife and probably a few rug-rats of his own. The lost opportunities had helped chase him out of Melbourne, that was for sure.

He glanced down at their joined hands. Hers was so much more delicate than his, though not much smaller. Slender fingers ended in long trimmed nails, polished until they shone in the moonlight. There was a scar on the back of her right hand, a long slash that glinted silver. Ray traced a fingertip over it.

“You’ve been to hell and back,” he declared. “And yet you have compassion and empathy for others. That’s special.”

When he looked up, she blinked. “It’s human, Ray. Nothing more.”

“After everything you’ve been through, you could easily have become bitter and twisted.”

“It taught me life is too short, that’s all. My mum used to say there’s always a reason to explain why people do the things they do. Sometimes they know it, sometimes they don’t. The reason doesn’t excuse behavior, just explains it. I went into the armed forces to learn about my father. Never in a million years would I have thought it would bring me to him.”

“Have you spoken to him today?”

She shook her head, her hair falling over her shoulder. Ray reached out and lifted it away. “I helped Hollywood paint one of the cottages. I think I needed the time to process everything that’s happened.”

Damien would understand, though it was probably doing a number on his patience waiting for her to come to him. Ray couldn’t begin to comprehend how any of them felt, but it fell to him to be here and support Abi. Or at least, he thought so.

“Ray, that kiss...” She looked lost for words.

“Abi—”

“Don’t get me wrong, it was...” she swallowed, “...hot, but I shouldn’t have kissed you back.”

“Why?”

“I’m here until the end of January. Then, who knows? I don’t want to hurt you by leaving.”

Ray took a breath. “Believe it or not, the thought did cross my mind, but you said it yourself, Abi, life is too short.”

She smiled and touched his cheek with her other hand. “That’s not what I meant.”

He stood, taking her with him and pulling her against his chest. Slipping an arm around her waist, he held her to him almost convinced she’d push him away. She didn’t. “Let’s not worry about later, Abi. What if we focus on now? I’m attracted to you and I think you feel it too, so why not enjoy what we have while we have it?”

“Life’s too short,” she mused, her voice dropping to a whisper as her arm went around his neck.

“It doesn’t have to be complicated.”

She swallowed and stared into his eyes. In the low light, he couldn’t read her expression. “I’ve come to care too much about you to hurt you, Ray.”

All he heard was hope and it made him smile. Using a finger to lift her chin, he made a silent promise to accept her as she was. She might not be able to offer him forever, but she could offer him for now, and that was good enough. “You won’t regret it, sweetheart.”

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