Page 93 of Her Reluctant Hero
Alex dropped against the back of his chair with a grin. “I love her.” He stood up and threw his arms up into the air. “I love her!”
His mother came out on the porch, drawn by the commotion. Alex snatched her up and spun her around.
“I love her.”
His mother swatted him with the dishtowel. “Then go tell her, you dummy.”
Alex stood at the edge of the sidewalk, watching the young woman in the shorts and tank top splashing her son in the plastic kiddie pool, jumping in and kicking the water up, jumping out again when he returned a wave of water.
She looked so happy. Did he have any right walking back into her life and saying, “Hey, look, I was wrong, you were right, I love you, let’s give this a shot?” He was asking a lot of her, to move to North Carolina with him, so she could be there for him between missions.
Goddamn, he never used to be this indecisive. But one decision had never meant more.
Before he could second-guess himself back to the car, she looked up and saw him.
Even from this distance, he saw the question in her eyes. What did this mean, him turning up here? He could see the hope. God, he loved her hope, the belief that she’d find her son, the trust that he’d stand by her side.
He wanted to honor that trust, live with that hope. He wanted her light to chase all his shadows away.
And then she was running toward him, long brown legs eating up the ground. She flung her arms around him, holding tight, her legs flying off the ground as he wrapped his arms around her. She raised her head, looked into his eyes, saw something there, because she kissed him like she’d been starving for him, hard and hot and open mouthed.
Something struck his leg, attached to it, soaking his neatly pressed slacks. Hector. He loosened his hold on Isabella enough to look down at the grinning toddler, felt himself grinning in response.
From a distance he heard a woman calling. The light in Bella’s eyes changed to mischief and she peeled herself off him, but didn’t let go, pressed herself to his other side, clinging to his arm to show he didn’t have a chance of escape.
He followed her gaze to the house, where a woman with Isabella’s eyes stood, hands together, watching.
“Are you up for meeting my mama?” she asked, but started leading him down the sidewalk before he could answer.
Dinner was a cheerful affair, and if he hadn’t been adopted by the Shepards, he would never have known how to deal. Bella’s dad watched him warily, her mom kept trying to feed him, Hector clamored for his attention, and all the while Bella smiled, knowledge in her eyes.
He wished he knew what she did.
After dinner, her mother chased them outside and they sat on the bench of a brand-new swing set.
“He’s not spoiled or anything,” Alex said, trailing his finger along the chain of the swing as she curled up beside him. She hadn’t let go of him yet, as if she was afraid he’d disappear or run away. Something in him flinched. He was here to ask her to come to North Carolina with him. How could he take her away from the family she’d just rediscovered?
“Neither of us are.” She rested her head on her shoulder and sighed. “You’re probably wondering why I left.”
“Yeah, a bit.”
“My family is great, but not what I’d call adventurous. I wanted adventure.”
“Now you’ve had it.”
She laughed. “More than my share.”
“So you’re ready to settle down.”
The catch in her breath told him she caught his meaning.
“Depends on what kind of settling down you’re thinking of.”
He shifted so he could look at her, and regretted that the movement dislodged her head from his shoulder. “The kind where you come to North Carolina and learn how to be a soldier’s wife.”
Her eyes filled with tears, but she smiled. “That doesn’t really sound like settling down.”
His lips twitched. “No, it’s just another kind of adventure, come to think about it.”
“A soldier’s wife,” she repeated. “Are you sure, Alex, after everything you know about me?”
“This is what I know about you.” He cupped her face in his palms. “You’re passionate and loyal and loving. There’s a light inside you I can’t stand to be away from. Maybe I’m selfish in wanting you with me, but—”
She covered his hand with hers. “No. Not selfish.”
He reached into his pocket for the square box that had been riding on his hip for the past few hours. He opened it with fumbling fingers and presented it to her. “I love you, Bella. I want you to know you’re not taking all the risk here.”
“I know all about risks, good and bad,” she murmured, looking from the ring to his face, her eyes just as bright as the diamond. “You’re a risk I’m willing to take.”
