Page 43 of Almost Home
A hundred different missions flipped through my mind, little snapshots of the higher-pressure situations I’d faced over the years. Escorting politicians to negotiations. Hunting down actual terrorists. Locating and extracting Americans from various hostage situations in a dozen different countries. “Yeah. I’ve had a few intense moments.”
Her tension cracked the second she made the connection. “Oh. Right.”
And then, she laughed. It started as a small chuckle but quickly unraveled into a silent laugh complete with closed eyes and an open-mouth smile.
My heart twisted at this familiar sight. I hadn’t seen it in more than twenty years, but it reached out and grabbed me. I couldn’t stay stoic in the company of this utter abandon.
So I laughed, too. She bent over and grabbed my arm to keep from falling. Historically, all her muscles gave out when she succumbed to a laugh attack like this. They’d hit at odd times, just like now.
I missed this. I missed her.In this moment, her hand on my arm and her silent laugh somehow filling the space with a bursting kind of joyful energy, I felt the loss of the decades we’d spent apart.
That hand on my arm made me wonder the same thing that’d been crawling through my mind one biting hope at a time and that, thus far, I’d shunned with every ounce of strength I’d had. But with her laughter tapering into soft, audible breaths, I let it come.Could we possibly try again?
She righted herself and let go of me, wiping the tears at the corners of her eyes and then bustling over to her desk to grab a tissue and swipe under them. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to lose it.”
I shook my head. “No apology needed.”
“I’m not sure why that felt so high-pressure to me. Obviously compared to the things you’ve dealt with, that was nothing.” She heaved a large sigh as she fully settled back into sobriety.
“It’s not a competition. It was intense, especially considering it was our first real client meeting. Grenier and Juliet Christensen’s drive-by the other day was nothing.”
“True. I guess it kind of threw me. Madeline’s so dynamic when I’ve seen her speak or seen her interviewed. She’s always seemed like this incredibly empowered, awesome woman, and she seemed so… small.”
I couldn’t disagree. “One of the reasons I want to do this job and do it well. We’ll keep her safe.”
Her bright eyes skated over my face in what felt like an affectionate caress. “She seemed a little better by the time she left.”
“Having a plan for her time here probably helps. Obviously, she’s seen the equipment and house plans, but meeting us and seeing we’re not psychopaths probably helped. She gave us her business based on Juliet’s recommendation, and Juliet recommended us based on Grenier’s word. Reliable sources, but still removed from her life.”
Sarah’s demeanor shifted a bit, uncertainty edging in as she leaned against her desk. I made the choice not to admire the way her hip rested against the edge or think of anything related to her and the desk.No. No. No.
“I hope I didn’t overstep with my last thing. I could’ve sworn you were giving me a look to say something.”
“I was.”
Relief visibly washed over her. “Thank goodness. I didn’t want to seem over the top, but she’s got to be lonely.”
My voice came out a little gruff when I said, “You were perfect.”
My words hung between us as our eyes locked. God, she was beautiful. Her face was still flushed from her laughter, and her concern for a woman she’d never met was just soher.I hadn’t been reconnected with her long, but already, I knew she was warm, kind, and even lovelier than she ever had been.
If I set a hand on her waist and leaned forward, what would happen? Would she raise her chin and give me her lips? Let me taste her for the first time in decades, in too long? Would she lean in and put her hands on me? Would she open to me and kiss me back?
She cleared her throat, breaking the moment and shifting to take a seat. “I better get a few things done before I take off.”
“Right.” I stepped back. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Retreating to my office, I shook off the haze that’d descended in the last few minutes. I didn’t know if we had anything ahead of us beyond this working relationship, but the more we interacted, the more it felt like it. And some part of me recognized I might owe it to myself to try with her if she was interested, too.
The other part of me knew what a mistake that would be. She wasn’t why I was here. She wasn’t why I’d come home.
But wasn’t the whole idea that I live a whole life, not just choose one category and immerse myself? Could I be fully engaged setting up work to build the practical logistics of life here while healing my relationship with my familyandhave something with Sarah?
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Sarah
The week had been a good one, and it’d flown. By end of day Friday, I had so much pent-up energy, I decided to go for a run after work. Wilder had been in and out thanks to the no fewer than ten locals interested in having him come out and assess their property’s security.
