The Hero (Thunder Point #3)(83)

Spencer had dropped by the clinic the day after their rescue mission looking for Devon, and Scott had explained that she was relieved to have Mercy home and was exhausted, begging time off from work to try to rest and get her life back. He looked for her at the football game, of course, but was not entirely surprised she wasn’t there.

He wanted to talk to her. Wanted more than talk, but he thought maybe she could use a little time. By the time Sunday rolled around, he could wait no longer. He made sure Austin was in Cooper’s care then went to her house, but she wasn’t there. He called her cell phone, but she didn’t answer. He really didn’t know what to do with himself, so like a smitten high school kid, he sat on her front step, waiting.

“Devon isn’t home,” Mrs. Bledsoe said when she saw him there.

“I know. I have to talk to her. I’ll wait.”

“Or you can walk down to the beach. The sun is out and she took that bag of beach shovels and pails that Mercy likes.”

“Thanks, I’ll do that.”

He’d been to the bar, dropping off Austin, but he hadn’t seen her on the beach. He decided to walk down the street past the marina and across the beach to find her. It was a little chilly although the sun was shining and there were only a few people on the beach. And Devon was on the part of the beach closest to the marina and farthest from the bar.

She must not have wanted him to see her from the bar. It filled him with dread.

She didn’t look up until he was standing beside her. Mercy played in the sand a short distance away and she smiled at him. “Pencer,” she said, and then went back to scooping sand.

Spencer dropped to the sand beside her.

“I’ve been meaning to call you to thank you,” she said. “What you did, it was far and away the bravest thing in the world. Thank you.”

“Devon, you were the brave one. You were ready to go alone.”

She just shrugged. “When your child is at risk, you don’t even think. You just do what you have to do.”

“It’s the same deal when it’s the woman you love,” he said. “I went to the clinic to see you. Scott said you were taking a couple of days to try to recuperate.”

“And think,” she said. “I really needed to think. It’s like a bad dream. A four-year bad dream. And it’s finally really over. I don’t have to be afraid to leave Thunder Point...don’t have to be afraid of some bogeyman just around the corner.”

“Listen,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you. To explain...”

“Spencer, it’s all right. I understand. After all you’d been through you weren’t ready to get involved with some woman with a mysterious and bizarre past, with a child, with baggage. You don’t have to explain.”

He turned toward her. “If we hadn’t been sidetracked by Mercy’s abduction, this would be coming sooner. I realized immediately, I made a mistake.”

“I know. It’s all right. At least you caught it before it was too late.”

“Devon, my mistake was that I almost lost you. I almost let you get away. The idiotic part is that I let you go because I was afraid of losing you. When you asked me to be responsible for Mercy, it hit me like a ton of bricks—if I let myself make a life with you and something happened, something completely unpredictable and catastrophic, like a car accident or...or cancer...” He stopped for a second. He reached for her hand. “It makes no sense at all, but I panicked. I thought—if something happens to her? How will I live? How many people can I lose before I go completely crazy? And you? Lose you? For just one split second I thought it would be easier not to have you at all than to face something like that. Again.”

“I understand,” she said. “I really do.”

“Not yet, you don’t. When you came to the bar to ask Rawley for a weapon so you could go after Mercy, I faced it head-on—there it was, that thing I feared the most, that your life could be in danger. And, Devon, I love you too much to let you go. I don’t know if we’ll have six weeks together or sixty years—it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I have you in my life, in my arms, for as long as we’re lucky enough to get.”

She stared at him, openmouthed.

He smiled at her. “Now is the part where you say you understand.”

She turned toward him. “Spencer, think about what you’re saying. You’re not ready, you know you’re not. This panic could rise again anytime. Don’t get ahead of yourself here, because I don’t want to love you and count on you and have you—”

He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, holding her hard against his chest while he went after her mouth like a starving man. Her eyes flew open in surprise, but a moment later she was holding him, returning the kiss. He moaned in appreciation, wishing he would never have to release her. But eventually he did because there was talking to do. “I love you, Devon. I wasn’t looking for it, I didn’t expect it, but I love you. I was so busy worrying about my own fears, my own losses, I didn’t really think about yours. You’ve been through so much, but you didn’t even blink. You never panicked. You just faced it all head-on.” He took a breath. “I don’t know what life will throw at us, but I can’t reel it back in. I’m in love with you. It’s a done deal.”