Whispers of You (Lost & Found #1)(60)

“We need to find a better balance.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Dangerous words because they spoke of a future—one that was far from guaranteed. “A give and a take.”

Holt moved into my space. His hand brushed the hair out of my face and then skated down my neck until he massaged my shoulders. “If you think I didn’t lean on you, then you weren’t paying attention. Every time I needed an escape from the craziness of my family. When life hit hard, you were the only person I wanted, the only place I wanted to be. You, more than anything, were home.”

I let my head fall to his chest. “Okay. Just hold off on any major construction, would you? Whatever this is…it’s new. I can’t just go back.”

“I get it. Come on. Let’s get inside. I’m making you dinner tonight.”

Holt made my head spin. Making me dinner might not be breaking ground on a new garage, but it was a part of that life I wanted so badly I could taste it. And the more I let myself want it, the worse the fall would be if things didn’t work out. I’d barely survived the first time Holt had left. A second time would be too much to bear.

But I couldn’t bring myself to say those words aloud. Instead, I followed Holt inside.

Shadow let out a happy bark and ran toward us. I dropped to a crouch, shoving my face in her neck as I stroked her. This was what I needed. Normal. Constant. Grounding.

“I was going to make Pad See Ew. That good with you?”

I pushed to my feet and moved toward the kitchen. “You make Pad See Ew?”

Holt pulled two beers out of the fridge. “One of my clients was in Thailand for a month. I picked up a few things.”

And he’d remembered that it was one of my favorite dishes. Every time we’d ventured to Seattle or Portland, I begged to go to a restaurant that featured a cuisine we didn’t have in Cedar Ridge. Thai was my favorite. Indian. Lebanese. Ethiopian. Greek. It was the one thing I hated about living in a small town, we missed out on all that food.

“I bet you’ve been to a lot of cool places.”

Holt popped the cap on the bottle and slid it across the bar to me. “Some cool places and some I’d be happy to never see again.”

I slid onto the stool, surveying the man opposite me. “What was your favorite?”

He grinned. “Mykonos. We were doing a security detail for a billionaire and his family, but they never left the estate. We basically got a paid vacation for two weeks. And it was gorgeous.”

“Sounds like a pretty cushy job.”

A little of his smile dimmed. “Sometimes. What about you? Did you ever think about leaving Cedar Ridge?”

I shook my head. “You know I love it here. The people I love are here. My job.”

“When did you decide to apply for dispatch?”

I toyed with a napkin. “A couple of months before I graduated. I wanted to be that voice on the other end of the line for someone else. Wanted to be their hope.”

Emotion danced in Holt’s eyes. “It’s incredible that you’ve taken the worst moment of your life and used it to inspire you to do good.”

My gaze locked with his. “Did you do the same? Military, private security, it’s all helping people.”

A muscle in his cheek ticked. “There was a fair bit of running mixed in there, too.”

I studied the man across from me, trying to muster the courage to ask what I needed to. “Do you really think you’d be happy sticking around Cedar Ridge after being used to that life for so long? The travel? The excitement?”

He opened his beer and rounded the bar, leaning against the counter. “Going a lot of places just makes you realize the value of home more. I’m here, Wren. I’ll figure out a way to make that stick. Work remotely or sell the company. Whatever it takes.”

My breaths started coming faster, panic and hope warring inside me.

Holt’s gaze tracked over my face. “I want you to know I’m here for good.”

I pushed off the stool, needing to move. I wanted Holt here with everything I had, but I was terrified to let myself actually say the words out loud. To admit it to anyone.

“Wren…”

Something in his voice had my steps halting, but I didn’t turn around. “It destroyed me when you left. I’m terrified that if you leave again, I won’t recover a second time.”

“I’m so sorry. Those words aren’t enough but—” Holt’s words cut off as his gaze jerked to the window. The sun glinted off it as it sank low in the sky.

The color leached from Holt’s face, and it was as if the world around me slowed. “Down!”

But Holt was already moving, throwing himself at me. Glass shattered. Holt’s body collided with mine. And then we were falling.





29





HOLT





Blood roared in my ears as I took Wren down, rolling us toward the couch and cover.

Shadow let out a series of loud barks.

“Shadow, bed,” I bellowed.

The dog ran to the crate that housed her bed. It would give her cover. Protection.

My hand slid to the holster at the small of my back, pulling my weapon. My gaze jumped from the trees to Wren, moving back and forth as I tried to assess as much of the situation as I could in brief snapshots. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”