Men of Courage (13 page)

“Asks the woman who just lost almost everything she owns?”

“Tangible things,” she said, lulled into such a blissful state nothing, not even harsh reality, could make her raise her walls again. He’d been honest with her, terrifyingly so. And it made her want to do the same. He deserved no less. And she realized with startling clarity that she could tell him anything. He’d slid past her defenses so easily, so quickly. And yet he was no stranger. She knew him. Knew he’d never knowingly do anything to hurt her. She knew where he came from, who he came from. And what she didn’t know, she was dying to discover.

“You were right,” she said softly. “Life makes no promises on tomorrow. You have to go after what you want today.” And then it was her turn to grin, to marshal the remaining strength in her limp, pleasure-sated limbs, and push him to his back, lean over him and make a promise of her own.

“Sometimes I say the smartest things,” he said, then groaned long and with deep pleasure
as she slowly, inch by devastating inch, peeled his T-shirt off…with her teeth. Her hands slid beneath the soft, worn cotton…over hot, hard skin. He was a fascinating blend of supple muscle and unyielding steel. And he tasted like heaven.

She shifted over him, making them both gasp as her nipples rubbed across the light swirl of hair on his chest. She straddled him, marveling at her own playfulness, which despite her yearning to break free of her cloistered upbringing, had never come easily to her. But then, she’d never come quite so easily, or thoroughly, as she had under Brett’s clever ministrations. And she was nothing if not a fair person. She only hoped she could come close to equaling—

He arched up as she settled her body across the now-screamingly taut fit of his gym shorts. And the expression on his face was her own present. One she planned to unwrap every chance she got.

“Shorts. Definitely need to go,” he growled.

“Giving orders?”

He managed to open his eyes, but his hips still pushed up against her, making it almost impossible for her to not give in. She wanted him there every bit as desperately as he wanted to be there. Maybe even more, if that were possible.

“Never.” He grinned, but it was tight and fierce, as if he was exerting major control. He jerked his chin. “Nightstand. Drawer.”

She understood and stretched her body across his to reach for a condom, putting her nipples right in nipping range of his tongue. Which he naturally made full use of. Which she naturally let him.

And that was where she made her strategic mistake. Somehow, seconds later, she was flat on her back. But she couldn’t argue. Hell, she couldn’t speak. She was too busy trying not to swallow her tongue as she watched him shuck his shorts and roll the condom on himself. Talk about Christmas and birthday presents all in one!

“Next time can I do that?” she asked. She’d never even considered protection as part of foreplay. It was something done in the dark. For that matter, so was lovemaking. Or had been. But now…“I want to touch you.”

“And I want that, too. Believe me. But one brush of your fingertips right now—”

He looked so primal, so fierce…and at the same time, just like Brett. Funny, sexy, patient. Her Brett. It was going to take some getting used to. This proprietary feeling he’d roused so swiftly, so strongly inside her.

And then he was moving over her. She spent a millisecond worrying about his ankle, but then he was settling his weight between her legs, and sliding the warm, hard, glorious length of himself inside her. And she couldn’t think of anything. Anything but him.

And as he pulled her blissfully up to the edge…then ferociously over again, she realized it wasn’t going to be all that difficult after all. Brett was inside her body but, more important, he’d found a way inside her heart. And she liked his warm, steadying presence there.

Now she only had to figure out a way to keep him there.

T
WO WEEKS
. Fourteen mornings spent waking up, finding her nestled next to him and remembering he’d won the lottery. The lottery of love. Brett rolled his eyes, but couldn’t wipe the grin from his face. God, he was a goober in love. But he didn’t care how corny his thoughts were. He looked at her and couldn’t help his feelings. Didn’t want to.

Brett traced lazy circles around Haley’s navel with his fingertips. She made a soft, snoring noise and shifted in her sleep, but didn’t push his hand away. Which was progress. He’d had her in his life, in his bed, in his arms, for days now. Nights. And though she gave herself to him with devastating openness when they made love; in her sleep, she was still putting up walls. But he was nothing if not patient. She’d had a hell of a lot longer to put up walls than he’d had to tear them down.

She’d told him everything now, about her fam
ily, about Glenn, the bankruptcy he’d forced her into. It amazed him she’d let him in as much as she had, and he was humbled by the faith she’d put in him, her trust.

And he planned to take tender, exquisite care of that gift, and her. God knows, she did the same with him.

It was almost as if she didn’t trust the ease with which their lives had meshed. She was looking at places to move, still haggling with state and federal officials about retrieving what could be salvaged from her home and work studio. He didn’t say anything, didn’t beg her to stay with him. She was already with him. All he could hope was that when the time came and she found her new place…that it would feel empty without him. He knew he’d be lost without her. But he was trying not to push. Okay, push any harder. Because he already had more with her than he’d ever dreamed. They’d come together so swiftly, so completely, but he knew he had to let her find her own way. And if she thought she needed her own space while they found their way together, so be it.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try to influence the deal.

He replaced his fingertips with his tongue. And she woke up moaning, wet and ready for him. “Christmas every day,” he murmured.

She pushed his hands away when he peeled the condom from the wrapper, and took over, as she’d done every time since that mind-numbing first time that she—after informing him that while he liked to unwrap his presents, she enjoyed wrapping hers—had fumbled around sliding one over him. It was the worst kind of tease in the world…and the absolute best. Watching her, tongue caught between determined teeth, had been a highlight moment. He’d never had to fight so hard to keep from saying the words. Words he’d still yet to say, but that burned the tip of his tongue on an almost constant basis. Soon. First, he had to tell her something else.

But it could wait until after this.

He shifted his weight on top of her, knowing she wasn’t as keen on being the wild one in the morning stream of sunlight that poured in his bedroom windows and sunroof. Patience, he knew, was the key there, too. At night, in the flickering shadows of candlelight, she was every wicked fantasy he’d ever had.

Which was really saying something.

Besides, he enjoyed dissolving her east-coast Brubaker shell. She was comfortable enough with her body, but still retained an overdeveloped sense of modesty. Which charmed him to no end…and nudged his more mischievous side. She nudged him right back. He was definitely in love.

They both sighed as he pushed inside her. Home. He sensed it, felt it, bone deep, every time. And knew he always would. He drove them there slowly…at least that was his intent. A lazy Saturday morning in bed. But Haley had other ideas.

And somehow, it was his resolve crumbling, his body being pulled beyond its will, until he was the one growling through his climax and she was the one smiling in delighted, smug pleasure.

“You’re not the only one who learns fast.”

He laughed, then noticed two sets of eyes peering over the bed. He motioned to them with his chin. “They’re probably thinking we train well.”

Haley laughed, then shrieked as both dogs bounded up onto the bed. Brett grabbed her hand and rolled her into his arms before Digger could land on her chest, then kept rolling until they
were out of the bed entirely. “Come on, shower with me.”

The dogs wrestled on the bed…and Brett and Haley wrestled in the shower.

It wasn’t until they were downstairs in the breakfast nook, bowls of cereal and the weekend paper spread out between them, that he broached the subject that had kept him awake last night, long after she’d curled up next to him and drifted off.

“I got a call yesterday, while I was at work.”

She pushed a stray curl from her face and looked over the edge of the paper at him. She was wearing his engine company T-shirt and panties, looking delightfully fresh scrubbed and well loved…and he wanted her all over again.

“You went out on a call? I thought you were still supposed to wait another—”

“No, I didn’t go out on a call. I got a call. From a friend of mine. He runs one of the schools that help develop and train SAR dogs. It’s one of the few in the country and he’s really brought it a long way in a few short years. It’s where I went—still go, in fact—to work with Recon.”

“Is he the one that got you into SAR work?”
She saw the answer on his face even before he answered. “This is what you wanted to talk about before. About the career decision you had to make. He wants you to come work for him, doesn’t he?”

Brett nodded. “We discussed it earlier this summer, but he hadn’t made up his mind yet. And…well, it’s more complicated than just changing jobs.”

“Because of the time you’ve put in with the fire department, your retirement, the—”

He held up his hand. “I’ve thought all about that. Endlessly. But that’s not it. Not really.”

“Search and Rescue is what you really love.” She didn’t make it a question. She’d come to know him so well in such a short time. Better than anyone ever had.

“I love both things, but yes, if I had to specialize, this is definitely what I want to do. With the world being a changing place, and manmade disasters piling up alongside the natural ones…we don’t have enough trained teams out there. I know we need to change that. Now I have an opportunity to do it.”

“So…how far away is this place?”

“A couple hours from here. Up in the Sacramento Valley.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s a hell of a commute.”

He reached out and covered her hand. “That’s the complicated part I mentioned. Hank doesn’t want me to come work for him. He wants to retire. Or, semi-retire anyway. He’ll always be involved with SAR. His wife finally retired from her government job and they want to travel, spend time with their grandkids. But he doesn’t want to leave the operation—”

“With someone who doesn’t love it as much as he does,” she finished softly.

“Yeah, well…”

“So, what? You buy him out, move the operation here, or—”

“You have to understand, this isn’t the kind of place you drive to, to work. In addition to all the training facilities, there are dogs he finds, usually from humane societies and other breeders, that he personally brings in to train before placing with handlers. It’s a full-time operation. Twenty-four seven.”

“So he has kennels.”

“Not exactly.”

Her eyes widened. “He lives with all his training dogs?”

“Basically, yes. You have to socialize them properly as pups, and they don’t stay for long before either going to a handler or being placed as a pet if they can’t make the grade.” Brett stopped in mid-babble when the grin split her face.

“You’ve already decided, haven’t you?” She squeezed his hand. “You want to move out there, take over the place.”

Brett just looked at her, feeling like he was standing on the edge of his own giant precipice. “I want to, but—”

“You’re perfect for this job, you know. He couldn’t have found anyone better.”

“Funny,” he said quietly. “I look at you and think the same thing.” He slid from his chair and tugged her from hers, until they were both standing and she was in his arms. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but will you come out there with me today? See the place with me? I want your input.”

“My input?”

Brett wasted a second wondering if he wasn’t ruining everything by pushing this on her so swiftly. Patience, he’d schooled himself a hun
dred times—a thousand—was the key to making their relationship work. It had started so abruptly, putting her under his roof, into his bed, literally overnight. And yet he felt as though she’d always been there, already couldn’t imagine a roof with out her under it.

“Yeah. You.” He dropped a kiss on her nose. “I know you’ve been looking for a place here.

And I’ve been trying really hard not to say any thing.”

She gave him a look.

“Key word being ‘trying,”’ he added with a sheepish grin.

She nodded, but looped her arms around his waist.

“I know rebuilding your life, your business, means a great deal to you,” he said. “As it should. And I know my spare bedroom leaves a lot to be desired as a work studio. I also know how important your independence is to you and I understand that completely.”

“Brett—”

“Wait,” he said, feeling suddenly over whelmed by how important this was, and how badly he was probably going to screw it up. “Let
me say this. I shouldn’t probably, should be more patient, but—”

“When you have to be, you’re the most patient man I know. I’ve watched you work with Recon. And I know how you are with me. You’re kind, loving and generous to a fault. You’re also the sexiest, most fun, most trustworthy man I’ve ever known.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, completely unprepared for her heartfelt words.

“I’ve been falling more deeply in love with you every second of every day,” she said. “I tell myself it’s nuts. I tell myself it’s insane. And yet I look at you and my heart swells.”

“But the house-hunting—”

“I wasn’t house-hunting. I just wanted you to think I was, because I didn’t want you to think that just because you brought a stray home, I was going to stick around until you were forced to throw me out when the time came to end this thing.”

He panicked. “But I don’t want to end—”

“I know,” she said, then grinned suddenly. “Isn’t it incredibly amazing?”

His heart was pounding so hard he could barely hear. In all his planned speeches, this was
never how it went. He was going to be so careful, careful not to pressure her, not to be too overwhelming in revealing how deep his emotions ran, promise her he’d go as slow as she wanted. Only—

“I was searching for a storefront,” she explained. “Along with all the other revelations I’ve had in my life, I’ve come to realize that maybe instead of hiding in my little studio and sending my pieces all over the country for someone else to sell…it was time for me to sell them myself. In my own place. It’s what I’ve always wanted…but after things went so bad, I guess I crawled more deeply into an emotional cave than I thought.” She leaned in, hugged him tightly. “You make me want to come out of that cave. Back into the sunlight, back into the world. But it’s a world I really don’t want to be in without you.” She grinned. “Or Recon, or all of Hank’s dogs, and all the ones to come along after them.”

He hugged her hard, pressing her tightly against him, his eyes suddenly burning with unshed tears. The ferocity of his emotions almost left him speechless. “What did I do to deserve you?” he choked.

She leaned back, looked up into his eyes.
“Funny, that’s what I think every time I look at you.” She kissed him again. And this time it was a kiss full of promise, full of hope. “So, let’s go see this new menagerie of yours. And, who knows, maybe afterward we can check out the local storefront properties out there.”

“Haley—” He didn’t know what to say. His heart was full to almost bursting.

She laughed. “My God, I’ve done it. I’ve actually managed to leave you speechless.”

He laughed, too, then tugged her back tightly into his arms. “Almost, but not quite,” he said. With her eyes still sparkling with laughter, he realized the right moment to speak his heart was any moment he wanted to. “I love you, Haley Brubaker.”

She caught her breath, and now it was her eyes that had a suspicious sheen of moisture. “I didn’t know how wonderful that was going to sound.”

“I’ll be more than happy to say it again. Every day. For years.” He kissed her, intending soft and sweet, but somehow it turned primal and demanding. His emotions were running so swift and strong, he thought he could explode with it. “I do love you,” he murmured against the soft skin of her neck. “It awes me how much you’ve come
to mean to me.” He lifted his head. “We both have a lot of changes, and I swear I want to take them one at a time—”

She was already grinning.

He couldn’t help it, he shrugged. “I can try to take them one at a time.”

“We’ll leap together.”

He sighed in amazement. “The lottery of love.”

“What?”

“It’s a goober thing.”

“Ah.” She smoothed a hand down his face. “As it happens, I love goobers.”

His smile faded. “Do you?”

She nodded.

His heart stopped.

“I love you, Brett Gannon.”

“Did you feel that,” he whispered.

“What?”

“I’m pretty sure the earth just moved.” He swung her around, making her squeal in surprise. “Or maybe it was just my heart rocking.”

“No,” she told him. “You’ve been rocking my world since the moment you stepped back into it.”

He grinned. “Now those are the kind of after
shocks I’ll never get tired of.” He put her down just as the dogs raced, barking wildly, through the kitchen and back around into the living room. Digger in the lead, dragging the bedsheet behind him.

“How many dogs did you say we’d be living with again?” Haley asked.

He opened his mouth, shut it again, then finally judiciously asked, “How many is my limit?”

She burst out laughing. “As many as you can con me into.”

“I love you, Haley.”

“I love you, too, Brett.” She grabbed his hand and headed up the stairs. “Come on, we have a drive to make.”

He scooted in behind her and flipped her neatly around and over his shoulder.