wrath of the Sea Queen (252 page)

"
I'm sorry
, C
a
eli
.  I didn't have
any
right to force my choice on you
no matter
my intention.  I should have had more faith in you. 
All
I wanted
was
to keep you from getting hurt
any
further
. 
I was scared for you. 
I thought I was helping. 
I
needed
you to be all right.  Even as I say it, I can hear that
I was only thinking about
what I wanted.  I didn't stop long enough to consider what you wanted. 
Can you ever forgive…
?
"

Vin's words were interrupted as C
a
eli
wrapped her arms around his neck and
kissed him. 
He
had
not
noticed that she moved
closer
while he spoke
. 
He
was
so focused on
the words of
his apology, that he wasn't paying
specific
attention to C
a
eli's
movement
until she was right in front of him.
 
Vin
gladly
responded
to her kiss
,
letting
his sodden,
blood-
stained shirt
fall
into the water as he did
.
  He
much preferred to hold onto her instead of that
awful
reminder
of th
e
terrible
event
.

"
Of course
, I forgive you.  I understand why you did it and how much it hurt you. 
I never
should
have put you in such a position
,
and I
a
m
very
sorry
that
I said such
awful
things to you
, Vin
. 
I know it's no excuse, but I was
terribly
upset.
 
I
realize
that my mind
has been
more clouded than
not
most of the week. 
I
am the one who is
hop
ing
you
wi
ll accept my apology. 
Thank you for
having the strength to do what was necessary when I
could
not
.
  I love you, Vin.
"

"
Oh, C
a
eli,
I
love you, too.
"  Vin held onto her tightly now, tears in his eyes, vastly relieved. 
C
a
eli understood. 
After several minutes, he finally loosened his hold and looked down at her.

"
C
a
eli, are you ok?  Do you need anything?
"
  Vin asked, concerned that she may
still
need assistance
.

"
I
'
m not hurt.  Raphael healed all
of the
physical
damage
. 
The rest
will take time
.  I'm not even sure that I
ha
ve processed it all yet
, but I
will
be
all right
," she replied.

"
Yes, you will; and
I
wi
ll be
with
you
to make sure that you are," Vin insisted.

"That's
so
good to hear.
  I was
worried. 
The way your brow
h
a
s
been
furrowed, I was afraid
of what you might
do
.
"

"What do you mean?"

"
I
thought you might consider
mov
ing
on without me after all this."

"Never
,
C
a
eli
,
"
Vin assured her.

"To be completely honest,
I
thought I
might have gone too far when I blew up Vicki's car.
"

C
a
eli missed the smile that played on Vin's lips
at the
mention
of
that particular
incident
.

"
S
eeing her
here
after seeing those photos
was
the final straw
. 
I
ha
d
lost
s
o much
already
.  T
he thought
of Vicki wanting to steal you away from me
, on top of everything else,
was t
oo much to
endure
. 
I needed to
act
on the emotion that boil
ed
inside of me
.
  I
might
have
explode
d
if I didn't vent
. 
I
c
ouldn't actually
bring myself to
hurt her,
so
I unleashed
my feelings
on her car instead. 
Afterward,
I
regretted the
childish
outburst and did not want to
read your reaction
.  S
o I released our
connection
, afraid to
know what you were thinking
," C
a
eli
explained
.

Vin actually laughed out loud at
her
confession
, leaving
C
a
eli puzzled.

"C
a
eli, seldom does a man get
to witness
such a tangible display of how much passion his wife feels for him. 
And t
here was
,
indeed,
a lot of emotion in that blast. 
It was a rare gift
, and I thank you for it
. 
M
y reaction was not at all what you
might
think.  In fact, the response it generated would very likely embarrass you
.
"

V
in's
caress on the side of her cheek and his
playful grin were enough to tell her what
his
words carefully avoided.  He predicted correctly, of course, and the
resultant
blush
that
tint
ed
her cheeks confirmed it.  C
a
eli quickly changed the subject and finished what she needed to say.

"
W
orst of all was
w
alking that tunnel
in silence
and then s
tanding here
anguishing over the outcome
.  It
nearly broke me. 
I
will
find a way to
cope
with the
horror
s
of
this week, but I could never handle losing you. 
I thought you might never speak to me
again
, and
I
couldn't really blame you
after everything I've put you through
.
"

"As I've said
so
many times
before, for a Baptist gal, you
take on
enough guilt t
hat you could
be
a devout
Catholic.
"  Vin looked down
at her
and laughed
.

Although he was elated to have
C
a
eli
back, Vin was still
baffled by one thing
.  C
a
eli
had n
ot
been speaking to him because they had both misjudged each other
and were still trying to remedy the situation
. 
And Ben had not been able to get through to C
a
eli either. 
Yet, oddly, Max was able to walk
straight
through all of the chaos and talk to her. 
His words held C
a
eli
's attention.