Page 16 of Cassie
Hoss grinned and reached out, stretching his arm across the table. He waited patiently until she put her hand back in his. His skin tingled at the contact, and he gently rubbed his thumb across the backs of her knuckles until the tension fled from her fingers.Fuck, the trust this woman has inside her is depthless. “Saint Mary’s lake. Great winding roads around the edges. It’s not too small, not too big, nice for an afternoon’s ride. I wanna ride that with you, Cassie. We’ll have an escort”—he gestured at the men—“but you’ll be riding alongside me. Want that, darlin’? I do.”
“Oh.” She spoke softly, and Hoss sucked in a breath because her eyes were holding his. She wasn’t looking over his shoulder or at his chin. She was looking at him with eagerness and pleasure on her face. And with that unguarded expression, she had gone from beautiful to fucking breathtaking.
In all his life he had seen beauty like that but once.
It had appeared etched in the face and soul of a woman he’d loved more than life, a woman he’d fought hard to hold to and missed like fuck when she was gone. Those had been black days, the darkest. But, because of Hope’s loving legacy, he’d found enough light in his life to keep him filled right up with love. Remembering how she’d loved him, something he got to see in their kids every day, knowing he’d held the line to cling to the life they would have made together, it had filled him right up. A bittersweet love, poignant and hard.
Not that he didn’t still grieve for Hope, because a well of murky pain remained buried deep inside him. Even now, fifteen years later, the cold, gray weight of grief could swell to fill him up at the least provocation. Hoss had spent days fighting to stay above those waters, sometimes taking it breath by breath. He knew Hope would never have wanted him to be alone, would be pissed as fuck at him for leaving his bed cold, but Hoss had never believed he had more room in him for love. Thought he’d had his chance, had taken a gamble that left him rich beyond words with the memories they’d made together, but expected a man like him would only have the one shot.
That’s what he’d believed, telling himself he was happy with the memories of what he’d had. Convinced he’d never see the potential again.
All that time being wrong.
He knew it now, seeing Cassie light up at the idea of a fucking ride, her smile beaming across a diner table at him because he’d handled her desires with care.Beautiful.
Love.
