Rescue My Heart (21 page)

But Holly wasn’t amused. Not in the slightest. She
turned on her heel and kept walking. For about three seconds. Then she whirled back and blasted her father with another look. “I can’t believe you interfered with my life that way.”

“I believe it was the boy’s life I interfered with,” Donald said mildly.

Holly ignored this and faced Adam. “And you.”

Yeah, him. The crux of her problem. Hell, let’s face it, he was the crux of a lot of problems.

“You protected him all these years,” she said, pointing at her dad, “by not telling me that it was
his
idea. Why?”

Fair enough question. “Because it was the right thing to do.”

“You let me think the judge said you had to go.”

“Because I didn’t want you to think you could talk me out of it. I needed a clean break.”

“From me.”

“From everything,” he said. “Going was the right thing to do. I wasn’t about to let your dad take any blame or have you decide to waste your life waiting on me. I went because I needed to go, Holly.”

She stared at him for a long beat, then tossed up her hands and stalked off, muttering something about stupid, stubborn, idiot, Neanderthal alphas who were too stupid, stubborn, and idiotic to know a damn thing about life.

H
olly drove her dad’s ATV back to Sunshine, and she felt quite badass while she was doing it, too. It was hard to maintain a good mad while enjoying the hell out of herself, but she managed. For a while, anyway.

Her dad rode with Adam and all three dogs. They stopped at regular intervals, which she knew was for her sake. But she didn’t need the extra care. She could take care of herself. Especially since the snow had stopped and the fire road was manageable.

By the time they got off the mountain, she wasn’t mad at either man. Much. She really did understand why Adam had left for the military all those years ago. She also understood why her dad had encouraged him to. Adam had been right, he needed to go. It had changed his life, set him on a different path, one that worked for him.

She couldn’t resent that, not even a little bit.

No, what she resented was the fact that neither of them had trusted her to be grown-up enough to handle the situation.

Because you hadn’t been…

During one of their stops, she called Red and e-mailed Grif about finding their wayward father. The heart attack news would have to wait until she could tell him face-to-face, online. She also contacted Kel and Kate, just to fill them in. Kate responded with an immediate text.

You get lucky up there with your tracker?

Holly’s return text was simple and to the point.

You need your hormone levels checked.

Back in Sunshine, Adam got out of his Ranger to walk her father inside the big old ranch house. Holly moved to her dad’s other side and got a gruff “What did I tell you about hovering, girl?”

Holly clenched her teeth and backed off. Inside, the two men holed up in Donald’s office for a few minutes, where apparently no vaginas were invited. She was reduced to pressing her ear to the door to eavesdrop but could hear nothing.

Were they even breathing in there?

She feigned an interest in the row of pictures along the hallway wall for another few minutes for the excuse to be standing there, but since the pictures were all of her father’s favorite pets from over the years, she tired of that quickly. She tried an ear to the door again, and had just settled up against the wood when it was pulled open. She nearly fell but Adam caught her and pulled her out of the office with him as he shut the door behind them.

She jerked upright and out of his grip, and tried to look busy.

Adam wasn’t fooled. “You catch all that, or do you need an instant replay?”

“No.” She sighed. “The damn walls are too thick, I couldn’t hear a thing.”

Adam’s amusement faded. Taking her hand, he led her down the hallway, then outside, away from prying eyes and
ears. “I got him to agree to go back to the doctor for a full checkup,” he said. “Just to make sure everything’s okay. I think his blood pressure meds aren’t a good mix with the antidepressants he’s taking.”

She unconsciously put a hand to her heart. “He’s on meds for depression?”

“Yeah, and before you ask, no, I didn’t know.”

“Oh my God.”

Stepping close, he wrapped his fingers around the wrist of the hand she was holding to her heart. She looked up into those eyes, warm and steady on hers, and actually felt some of her tension drain.

Of course, then an entirely different kind of tension filled her. She had no idea what it was about Adam that never failed to inspire confidence and a feeling of security. He could make it all better with one touch, which was just about the craziest thing. No one could make things all better. She freed her hand and slid it up his chest, tipping her face to his.

He stepped into her, holding her gaze for a long beat before lowering his head and brushing his lips to hers. When she sighed in pleasure, he took her mouth with his. No other word for it. He took, and she gave. Willingly. Gliding her arms up around his neck, entangling her fingers in his hair, she pressed closer. A groan sounded and she honestly wasn’t sure which of them it came from.

When Adam pulled free, his voice was lower, huskier. “Let me know if you need anything.”

She nodded, staggered by the intensity of their connection. It was different this time around. Deeper. Stronger.

Scarier.

She’d already decided on the ride home that she didn’t need to put a label on whatever this was. She’d done that once, and it hadn’t worked out for her. She didn’t need him to acknowledge wanting her when it was right there for her
to see. She didn’t need him to put words to the fact that in spite of themselves, they had a relationship of sorts, whether it was friends, or friends with benefits, or more.

The bottom line was that he’d proved how much he cared about her with every action he made over the past few days. A conversation about it wouldn’t make it any more real than what it was right now. “Thank you,” she said softly.

“For the kiss?”

She smiled. “For finding him for me.”

His gaze drifted down over her mouth again. “That wasn’t all we found.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

He held her gaze, then stepped back and shoved his hands into his pockets as if he didn’t quite trust them. And that. That all by itself made her feel even better. Because she wasn’t the only one fighting this thing. In fact, she wasn’t planning on fighting it at all anymore.

But she understood that he would.

Too bad he didn’t stand a chance…

“He’s promised me full disclosure after his doctor appointment,” Adam said.

It took her a moment to switch gears. “And what about me?” she asked. “Do I get full disclosure, too?”

Adam shrugged.

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re kidding me. I don’t?”

“He doesn’t want you to worry.”

“Well, he won’t have to worry about me worrying, since I’m going to kill him.”

Adam shook his head. “Do I need to go back in there with you and referee?”

“No.”

He nodded and, with one last long look, left.

Holly headed inside and hauled open her dad’s office door. He wasn’t at his desk as she expected. He was on the couch, head back, staring up at the ceiling, Thing One
and Thing Two at his feet. At the sight of her, the dogs bounced up and tried to slobber her to death. “Sit,” she said.

Thing One leaned on her, leaving dog hair all over her jeans. Thing Two licked her hand.
“Sit,”
she repeated sternly.

Neither of them listened. “Obedience class isn’t working.”

“Adam says it’s the owner who needs to be trained.” He snapped a finger and the dogs obediently sat.

Holly sighed. Okay, so
she
needed obedience class.

“Listen,” her dad said. “I don’t want you to tell Grif about…you know.”

“The heart attack?”

“Yeah. I don’t want him worrying about me while he’s over there.”

“Dad, I told him you were missing and that I went out after you with Adam.”

“Goddammit.” He glared at her, eyes bloodshot, the lines in his face drawn. He seemed older than she could remember him looking, and her heart clenched.

“So, it’s okay for you to keep a secret for years,” he griped, “and yet you babble about me to the entire fucking world?”

“Maybe that’s our problem. As a family, we don’t talk much.”

“Well, you picked a hell of a time to change the rules.”

He was brooding, and sensing it, Thing One and Thing Two hopped up and surrounded him. Holly moved closer, too, because he looked sad sitting between the two happy pups. Too sad. Feeling grateful to have him home safe and sound, wanting him to know it, she leaned in and kissed his tight jaw. “We’ll deal with it, Dad. Okay? We’ll deal with it together.”

He nodded, then paused. Clearly he wanted to say something, and since it was unlike him to hesitate over anything, ever, her gut tightened. “What?”

“I never asked about Derek, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t wonder. In fact, I’d guessed about you splitting up.” This didn’t surprise her. Her dad kept himself incredibly busy, but he was astute and as sharp as a tack. Not to mention nosy as hell. He liked to know what was going on with his people. “I contacted him and asked him directly. He confirmed that you’d filed for divorce. I didn’t say anything to you about it because…”

She stared at him in shock, because this
did
surprise her, though it shouldn’t have. “Because why, Dad? Why didn’t you tell me that once again you’d interfered?”

He grimaced. Guilt? Probably not. Probably just bracing himself for the fight about it now that he’d confessed. “Because you didn’t tell me yourself,” he finally said. “I thought you didn’t want me to know. And for the first time in your life, you’ve seemed…” He searched for words, and when they came, they weren’t what Holly expected. “Sure of yourself,” he said quietly. “And happy in your skin. I didn’t want to take that away from you.”

“Oh.” Her throat felt tight, but she nodded. Because it was true. Being back here in Sunshine, running the business side of things for Reid Ranching
had
empowered her. “I see.”

“Actually, no you don’t.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “And damn, but I’m really bad at this.” He dropped his hand and met her gaze. “All your life, Holly, you’ve hidden yourself, conforming to what you thought I wanted. Or your mom. And then that asshole you married to spite me. You hid yourself, and I let you. I was wrong. You needed to find your own way, and you’ve done that. You’ve become tough and strong. A true Reid. Damned if I was going to take that away from you.”

“Oh, Dad.” She nudged Thing One off the couch and plopped down in his spot. They sat there a moment, companionably quiet.

“He’s a good man, Holly.”

Head back, she craned her neck to look at him. “Who?”

“Adam.”

Her heart knocked once against her ribs. “That was never in question.”

“He’s a good man,” her dad repeated. “And if I had any hand in messing things up the first time, I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t you.” She’d wanted Adam to stay in Sunshine—but she’d wanted that for her, not taking into account his wants. She’d been immature and selfish. “You were there for him, guiding him when he needed it. You did what was right for him.”

Which was more than she’d managed.

“I did. And I’ll do what’s right for him now, too,” her dad said.

“Which is?”

“Give him my permission to date you.”

Holly stared at him, not knowing whether to laugh or be horrified. “Dad, you do realize that we don’t need your permission.”

“Well, of course I realize that. But I want him for you.”

Laughing won, she decided. “You spent the past decade trying to talk me out of Derek.”

“Adam’s a better man.”

She agreed. “Adam’s not ready for me.”

Now her father laughed, too. “Since when has something like that ever stopped you?”

Adam spent his first day back out on Bear Lake evaluating a class of five trying to pass their S&R certs. He got home later than planned, missing dinner with Dell and Brady, both of whom had left him bitchy texts like a couple of women.

This suited Adam, who wasn’t ready to be grilled. He still hadn’t processed all that had happened in the past few days. Being in such close proximity with Holly had fried
his brain circuit. At least that was the story he was going with, since he couldn’t come up with any other reason for what had happened between them.

Being with her again had done something to him, cracked something open deep on the inside. He wasn’t sure how or what, but he knew one thing.

He was feeling again,
way
too much.

Then there’d been the matter of the caves and his massive failure to handle himself there. Yeah, fun times. He was really enjoying obsessing over that…

He’d done his best to shove it all away, but that wasn’t working out so well for him. And he knew better, anyway. Shoving the bad shit deep always backfired, because then he ended up at the mouth of a set of caves having a breakdown…