Broken(75)

She lowered her lids and nodded.

He caressed the side of her face, his thumb grazing her soft cheek. “Just some food for thought, but if they could do what they did to you, it stands to reason you weren’t their first victim, or their last. If anything, they deserve to be punished to prevent them from doing to someone else, what they did to you.”

Jocelyn didn’t respond for a long time and for a moment, Cade wondered if he’d gone too far. But finally, she met his gaze once more. “You’re right. I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did, and if there’s a way to stop it from happening, I-I’ll do what I can to help you find them. But, I’m not sure if I have it in me to go through a long trial where I’m scrutinized as if I’m the criminal. I’ve seen it before and I-I know I sound like a coward but—”

“Sweetheart, I think you’re very brave. Don’t ever let me hear you say that about yourself again. You’ve already gone through so much. All I need is your assistance in finding them and you leave the rest up to me.”

Placing her palms against his chest, her eyes widened. “Promise me you won’t kill them. They’re not worth it and I don’t think I can lose you again.”

Holding her close, he placed his head against her forehead. “I promise. Leave it up to me. By the time I’m done with them, I’m sure they’ll prefer death.”

“What are you—”

Covering her mouth with his, he silenced her. “Shh. We’ll talk about it later, okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Besides, we have other things to discuss, like you telling me all about New York. Do you think the Big Apple is ready for a country boy like me?”

“Oh, Cade. Would you really be willing to leave all this behind to come to New York with me?”

“You’d better believe it, sweetheart. This has been my home all my life, but I realized without you, it means absolutely nothing to me. My home is wherever you are.”

A tear slid down her cheek. “I love you so much. Thank you.”

He brushed her lips with his. “There’s nothing to thank me for. I’ll be stuck to you like glue, lady. You won’t get rid of me so easily.”

“This sacrifice you’re willing to make on my behalf is humbling but I can’t let you do it.”

His smile faded and eyes narrowed. Instinctively his hold tightened around her. If she thought he’d let her go, she had another think coming. “Jocelyn, we belong together. There’s no way I’m letting you walk out of my life again. I’ve made up my mind.”

“And I’ve made up mine. I can’t let you give up everything you have here. There might be a lot to do in New York, but you’d be bored within a week of moving there. You wouldn’t feel right if you didn’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn and work until sunset. You love it here. Devlin Ranch is in your blood and I won’t let you give it up for me.”

“Jocelyn, I’ve already told you, my life means nothing to me unless you’re in it. Yes, it will take a little adjustment on my end, but I’m sure I can find something to do.”

“Let me finish. What I’m trying to say, is it won’t be necessary for you to uproot yourself because I’m willing to move back here to be with you.”

Cade shook his head, not sure if he’d heard her correctly. He’d already come to terms with the idea of relocating, although the thought did fill him with some trepidation. He’d be a fish out of water, but somehow, with Jocelyn by his side, he figured they could work things out somehow. But if she was willing to live here… “Jocelyn, I did mean everything I said.”