Frigid Affair(48)

“They kept me in an interrogation room most of the night. I gave them the name and number of my old boss here in Anchorage when I was working construction. It took them a while to get in touch with him and even longer for him to come to the station in the middle of the night. Anyway, apparently the thieves hit two towns during the days I’d been working. The crimes were committed in Red Devil and Flat. There’s no way I could have been involved in them. After that, I had to wait for them to contact several people I worked with. They put me in a line up with a group of other guys and had another woman come in to see if she recognized me as being one of the men in the group who asked for directions. Since I obviously wasn’t with them at that point, they couldn’t hold me. They have no evidence against me, and a solid alibi for my whereabouts during other similar crimes.”

“So, what now? Can they still charge you?”

“I doubt it. I didn’t take anything. I didn’t set any fires, and I sure as hell didn’t try to sell the merchandise to popular art dealers. They have one of the guys on footage. He used a fake name, but they’re trying to use facial recognition to track him down. Bob and Eve are the only people who accused me of being part of the group. Once I proved I wasn’t, they couldn’t hold me.”

“So you’re off the hook?”

“For the time being. Although, I don’t think we’re going to be welcomed back at the house. It’s best if we took everything back up to the cabin for a while.”

I held him tighter. “I thought we were going to lose you. I’ve been a mess.”

“You would have gotten by, Amantha. You did before I came along. I know you’re capable.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing. I don’t want to do it without you. I want you by my side.”

“I had a lot of doubts when they took me away yesterday. I wondered if you’d start to believe what everyone was saying instead of what I told you.”

“I never doubted your innocence. When you love someone you trust that they wouldn’t lie.”

He cupped my cheeks and looked down into my eyes. “I thought we agreed not to say that word.”

“We did, but I’m ready to use it. I’m not afraid anymore of what could happen. I know life isn’t predictable. I want you in mine for as long as I can have you. If it ends up being forever I won’t complain. We’re happier when you’re with us. I have a family again.”

He kissed the top of my head and held me close. “If I wasn’t so damn tired I’d take you to bed with me and show you how much it means to hear you say this. Unfortunately, I’m going to need a nap first.”

I pressed my lips against his. “You’re worth the wait.”

He slapped my butt as he walked by, tugging off his shirt and heading toward the back of the small cabin to find the bathroom.



After checking on Christopher, who was still sound asleep, I made my way in to check on his father. I found him in the shower, leaning both arms against the tile wall with his head facing down. It only took me a few seconds to strip down and climb in behind him. My arms found his waist as I leaned my cheek against his back.

He put one of his hands over mine. “I need to go back to the station this afternoon to meet with a sketch artist. Apparently I’m the only person who has seen all of their faces. I just want this shit to be over with. I’m tired of running from things that happened in my past. I feel like you’re going to get tired of it and send me packing.”

“I’m always scared you’re going to decide you don’t want to settle down and raise a kid. I worry you might feel trapped.”

“I’m exactly where I want to be.” He turned around to face me. “I’d never abandon my son, and certainly not his mother, who I happen to love right back.”

I smiled. “Do you think we’re crazy? It is possible?”

“I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t feel it for myself. The moment they stuck me in that car I saw my life flashing in front of me, all my failures, but mostly what I’d be leaving behind if I never returned. I didn’t know how it was going to go. My old boss could have said he didn’t know me. He could have let me rot in a jail cell without a second thought. I still would have held onto hope that someday I could come back to you; to both of you. I don’t want to waste anymore time, Amantha. I know we’re rushing into this, but it just feels too damn right to slow down.”

“What should we do now?” I asked.

“Well, I guess that depends on what type of weather you want Christopher to grow up in. I mean, we can stay here if that’s your plan, or we could go anywhere in the world. You and I have spent the past six years trying to start over. We’ve been running. I’m tired of running. I don’t care where I end up as long as you two are with me. Amantha, I’m not just asking you to be with me.” Before I knew what was happening he crouched down on one knee and took my hand. “I don’t have a ring, or even the means to buy one, but I’m going to ask anyway. I thought I had nothing to live for. I believed I was going to spend the rest of my days running from the pain that haunted me. Then you came along. Nothing has been the same since. You’ve given me my life back. Be my wife. We both want to be a family, so why not make it official? Will you, marry me that is? Amantha I’m asking you to be my wife, because I want to be your husband, if you’ll have me of course.”