Who on earth? Had Sam sent someone to make sure she’d arrived home safely?
She peered through the glass and stopped in shock.
It couldn’t be.
Then she heard the voice from her dreams.
“It’s late. Should I go?”
She yanked the door open, still trying to absorb that Rafe was really here.
“No, no—come in, please.” She shut the door behind him, leaning against it and staring at him, suddenly at a loss for words. He seemed weary and was even leaner than before.
But he looked wonderful to her.
They spoke at the same time.
“What are you—”
“How have you—”
Both stopped. Both smiled.
“You are still beautiful, querida.” In that much-missed voice was a caress. “How are you?”
Her gaze dropped to those hands that had mesmerized her from the first. All at once, her house didn’t feel so lonely. As always, his presence filled the room.
“I’m…good,” she said. Then she remembered and grinned. “Better than good—I assisted in surgery today.”
Rafe’s heart faltered. His trip had been for nothing. “That’s…great. I’m glad for you.” He tried his best to feel it.
Color stained her cheeks. “Yeah, well…I’m a long way from ready to crack a chest on my own.”
“You will be.” He didn’t doubt it.
Her head rose; her eyes filled with a fragile hope. “I’m going to try.” Then her forehead creased. “Why are you here, Rafe?”
For you. I came for you. But he couldn’t say that now. He seized on the first thing that leaped to mind. “Looking for more equipment.”
“How’s the stuff that Mercy sent working out?” she asked.
“You didn’t get my letter?”
She nodded. “Sam appreciated it.”
I didn’t write it for Sam, he thought. “So…things are going well.”
Her slender shoulders lifted. “Yeah, great. How’s Rosaria?”
“She sends you her love.” He smiled. “And another tin of tea, which is in my truck.”
“Oh—” Diana straightened. “Where are my manners? You want something to drink or eat or—”
He almost said no. Almost took the opening to escape from the ache of being with her, now that he knew she was lost to him for good.
But something in him couldn’t let go of her just yet. “Sure. Whatever you’ve got is fine.”
That mouth he’d loved to kiss turned up in a smile sparkling with mischief. “I was just making some of her tea. You’d better go get your bag and be prepared to spend the night, though. It always seemed to put me down for a minimum of twelve hours.”
He chuckled, trying not to think about spending the night, though it had been on his mind every inch of the past seven hundred miles. “I think I’ll pass.”
Spend the night. The phrase echoed through Diana’s brain. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, drinking in his presence as though he were water and she’d been lost in the desert for weeks.
Water. His spring. “Rafe, I’m sorry about the way I left. I just—”
He shook his head and lifted one hand to caress her cheek. “I understood. I wasn’t asleep.” His eyes met hers, and she felt the burn of tears. He’d let her go, knowing—
His thumb slid beneath her lashes, blotting the moisture as it fell. He lifted his hand and tasted the salty drops. “I knew you had to leave, mi corazón. You had to return and try again. It’s who you are.”
“Is it?” she whispered, staring at him. Wishing he’d touch her again. She took a step toward him, heart in her throat, but stopped short. “Rafe, I—I missed you.”
“Ah, Diana…” Rafe closed the distance, enfolded her in his arms. She leaned against him, clutching his shirt, resting against the bulwark of his solid strength. “I missed you so much,” she murmured into his shoulder, free, now that he was here, to feel just how true it was.
His arms tightened on her, his body curving over hers. “And I you, querida.” His voice was rough. “But I’m glad you’ve regained what you lost.”
“Are you?”
“Of course.” Rafe wanted to mean it, even though it signaled the death of his hopes.
Her head tilted back, and solemn green eyes studied his. “Thank you.”
Rafe looked at her mouth and knew he had to leave quickly. He didn’t feel noble, no matter what he said. He’d let her go once, and it would kill him to do it again. He had to, for her sake, but damned if he could stand here and pretend it didn’t hurt like hell.
He stepped away from her. “It’s late. You need your sleep.”
“But you just got here. Are you hungry?” She glanced around. “I don’t keep much food stocked, but I could—”
“No.” He clenched his jaw. “I’m fine. It was good seeing you, Diana.” He jerked his gaze away from the hurt in her eyes, heading for the door.
“Do you—would you like to stay here?” she asked in a small voice.
His knuckles went white on the doorknob. “I don’t think so. Goodbye, Diana.” The knob slipped in his damp palm.
“Rafe—” She moved up beside him and touched his arm. “What is it? Why are you angry with me?”
“I’m not angry.” He twisted the metal and yanked hard. Took a step outside. Heard his grandmother’s voice. Her answer might be different this time.
Screw nobility. He whirled. “Hell, yes, I’m angry—” He abandoned all pretense of fairness. He was a healer, but he was a warrior, as well. “I should be glad because I care about you and it’s what you want.” He stared at her. “But I’m not. I don’t want you here—I want you with me. I need you, and you know you need me, if only you’d stop being so scared.”
She only looked at him, eyes huge in her face.
He swore and brushed past, pacing, raking fingers through his hair. “I understand what you’re thinking. It makes no sense for you to come back—don’t you think I’ve reasoned it out, six ways from Sunday?” Frustration ripped through him. “You’ve got everything you ever wanted right here. You’ve worked hard to succeed against all odds. There’s nothing for you back there except a broken-down soldier and sure poverty.”
He stopped in front of her, as if daring her to argue. “I know all the reasons it’s wrong to take you back with me, but I want you, damn it—in my house and my bed and my life. I want to practice medicine with you and make babies with you—”
Diana watched him, hands jammed in his pockets, eyes crackling with fury and—oh God—what looked like love and need.
And she understood then why nothing had fit since the day she’d returned. Why it never truly would. Because she’d left the best part of herself back in that valley, with simple people who’d taken her to their hearts.
With a man who had, for the first time in her life, made her whole. Found her enough.
But could it last? How could she risk it?
“I might never get it back, all the way,” she blurted.
“What?”
“My hand.”
“I don’t care about that. It’s not all you have to offer.” Frustration simmered in his eyes.
Diana stepped back from him, colliding with the refectory table. She wrapped her arms around herself, grasping for a way to explain. “I thought—” Her voice shook a little. “Medicine was the only place I ever felt like I belonged. But even there, I made sure that others needed me—I never let myself need them.”
Rafe had gone very still.
Her chest rose with a deep inhalation. “I told myself that my mother’s mistake was to need my father too much, that the only sure way to survive was to be so strong that you didn’t lean on anyone else. If I was the best and I never needed anyone, I’d be safe. Then I got injured, and I wasn’t the best any longer. I was so afraid. I didn’t know who I was anymore. But something happened in your valley.” Her eyes rose to meet his. “I met people who didn’t care if I was the best. They liked me
just for me, even though I was damaged. Your grandmother was so kind. Your friends made me feel at home. And you—” She took a deep, shuddery breath. “You scared me to death because you made me feel too much. I was underwater and drowning fast. I had to get out. I ran back to what I knew. Just like you said—” Her gaze wavered. “I ran away.”
Rafe frowned and started to speak.
She held up her hand and continued. “But nothing was the same anymore. I don’t belong—” Her mouth twisted. “If I ever did.” She moved, starting to pace.
She whirled. “Part of me wants to return to the valley and be with you, help you take care of those people, but it’s not that simple. It can’t be. I have a chance to use skills that I worked hard to learn. If I don’t, aren’t I copping out? Not everyone can do what I do. Don’t I have an obligation—” Confusion darkened her eyes. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Anyway, I’m a lousy risk for love. I don’t know the first thing about it.”
“You’re wrong.” Rafe spoke then, seeing a glimmer of hope. Thank you, Abuelita. “All that passion for your patients says you know plenty about giving love—you’re just afraid to ask for it.” He crossed to her then, wanting his hands on her. “You don’t have to ask me, Diana. You’ve had my heart for a long time. I need you just as much as you need me.” His grin was wry. “I’m no bargain, either, you know.”
“You are,” she murmured. “You’re the best man I ever met.”
Rafe stifled a snort. “My family would tell you I’m moody as hell and stubborn to boot.”
“You’re not—or maybe you are, but you’re so much more,” she said, lifting her hand to his cheek.
Rafe closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, placing his hand over hers. “We can find a way, if we want it badly enough. Maybe we commute, so you can keep your practice.” He watched her to see her reaction.
“Commute between here and your valley?” Her eyes narrowed in consideration.
“There are poor people here, too,” he pointed out. “Maybe we set up another clinic in Dallas. We hire people to help—you tap your connections and make them fund it. Liam’s offered to contribute; this time I’ll say yes.” He grinned. “My savings are stretched about as far as they can go.”
“I’ve got money saved up.” Her eyes had a far-off look. “And I could hit up Sam and my partners.” She started to pace again.
Rafe stopped her. “Forget the clinics. First things first. Do you love me?”
Her face went pale. “What do you think?”
“Don’t dance around the question.” He held her gaze. “It’s time for you to quit running. To take a leap and trust me to love you. I’m not your father. You don’t have anything to prove to me, but you’ve got to risk your heart or we don’t have a chance. I want that chance, Diana. I want you, more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”
Fear squeezed her heart in a merciless fist. For a moment, she could barely breathe.
She stood very still and closed her eyes, letting the feel of his hand sweep through her, that warmth she’d missed so much. If she said the words, there was no turning back. She’d never been more afraid, not even as a teenage runaway stranded in a world turned ugly and dark.
“Look at me, querida.”
She did, seeing there all the answers to questions she’d been afraid to ask.
And she was not her mother. Even if Rafe left her, she had proven she was strong enough to survive on her own.
“I won’t leave you,” he said as though he could hear her thoughts. “I will cherish you and protect you to my dying breath. I will love you beyond the grave.”
Serious words from a serious man. A man of honor. A man to trust.
“You’d better,” she said, trembling. “You can’t let me need you and walk away.”
Rafe drew her closer than breath, nearer than a heart’s beat. “Say the words, mi corazón. Let your soul speak to mine.”
Lifting her face from the comforting warmth of his broad chest, Diana rose to her tiptoes, halting with her lips an inch from his. “I love you, Rafe Sandoval, and…” She hesitated, then took the leap. “I need you.”
Rafe closed his eyes in relief. “Thank you.” Then he sealed his promise to her with a kiss that held the taste of a sacred vow.
Epilogue
“You don’t really have doubts, do you?” a glowing Raina asked as she pinned Rosaria’s lace mantilla to Diana’s now shoulder-length hair. “He’s wonderful, Diana. The whole family is.”
“They are. I haven’t had a family in so long…” Diana met her soon-to-be sister-in-law’s gaze in the mirror. Then she shook her head. “No. I’m nervous, but I love him. It’s just that I wish—”
Raina’s eyes went soft. “You wish you had your own family here.”
“I do. It’s silly, since they’ve been gone so long.”
Raina squeezed Diana’s hand. “I understand completely. When Liam and I married, he had this huge family and all these friends. I had no one.”
Diana smiled and touched Raina’s burgeoning belly. “You’re building your own family now, and you know all the Sandovals and Sullivans adore you.”
Raina grinned. “I can’t wait. Speaking of Sullivans, Liam says Rafe’s been pacing on the porch. He’s got all brothers on the lookout. He has this idea you might not show up.”
“Oh, I’ll show up.” Diana smiled back. “I’ve got too much invested in him now. Two clinics. Two staffs.” She shuddered dramatically. “All that paperwork.”
“Sam’s been wonderful, though, hasn’t he? Once he quit moaning about losing his rainmaker, he really got behind you. I’ve never seen a fund-raiser like him. I could use him with my halfway house for women who are without hope, the way I was…before Liam.”
“You seem to have done just fine on your own, but I’d like to be involved more, too. Rafe and I want to help with medical care.”
“I would love that.” When Diana gripped Raina’s hand, Raina glanced down. “Sure it doesn’t hurt?”
“Hardly at all. I removed an appendix without my wrist brace yesterday.”
“Do you miss it? Being a hotshot cardiac surgeon?”
“I thought I would, but there’s so much more in my life now. I like teaching, and I like breaking new ground, practicing medicine that incorporates the old ways and new.” She smiled. “And Rosaria says I’m her second-best pupil.”
“My sister the witch doctor,” Raina teased.
Diana laughed and clasped her in a hard hug. “Sister. I like the sound of that.”
“Me, too.” Like Diana, Raina was not free with affection, so her words meant so much. Diana felt the press of tears.
“Oh, don’t—don’t you dare,” Raina jumped back and dabbed at Diana’s cheeks with her handkerchief. “Celeste and Jilly will kill me, after having to kidnap you to shop for this dress. Don’t you dare spot it.”
A knock sounded on the door. “You ready, ladies?” Sam’s voice. He’d offered to escort Diana down the aisle. “Your warrior isn’t going to wait much longer,” Liam said from beside him.
Her warrior. Diana smiled. Her healer. The man who’d changed her life. “We’re coming.”
Outside, she watched as Liam caught Raina in a quick but thorough kiss, stroking her belly tenderly. She followed them, then waited at the edge of the porch with Sam, seeing her new family assembled. Her new life.
And there, by the spring where their hearts had first joined, she and Rafe would join their lives.
Standing beside Rafe, Alex saw her first. His somber face creased in a smile, and he nudged his brother. When Rafe spotted her, his shoulders visibly relaxed. He studied her with those sorcerer’s eyes, and Diana prayed never to awaken from the spell.
Here was love. Here was life. Here was home, now and forever.
I’m ready, she mouthed. Sam bent down as if to listen.
But Diana had eyes only for the man who read her lips and smiled. No one else needed to hear. Her words, and her heart, were me
ant for only one man.
Rafe.
Diana was seized by the urge to run again, but this time there was a difference.
She would be running toward love, toward the future.
The past was over, and she was whole.
~THE END~
Thank you for letting me share my stories with you! Rosaria has a cameo role in GUARDING GABY, if you’d like to see her again.
Next up is TEXAS PROTECTOR, Rafe’s brother Alex’s story:
FBI agent Alex Sandoval has never forgiven himself for not protecting a young girl who was gravely injured and her mother killed before her eyes during his first hostage negotiation twelve years ago. Now Jade Butler is a cop herself, assigned to a prestigious multi-agency task force hunting for the killer of several young girls in Austin, Texas—and Alex is the agent in charge of the case.
They never met all those years ago, but Jade recognizes his voice as the one she still hears in her dreams, the voice that has comforted her through many a terrifying flashback. Her role on the task force is undercover, serving as bait for a madman, yet Alex cannot stop trying to protect her as he was unable to do years ago. Tensions ratchet between them as old memories vie with a powerful new attraction, and when Jade is taken hostage by the killer, it’s Alex’s worst nightmare as he must negotiate once again—only this time, it’s to save the woman he loves.
Start reading TEXAS PROTECTOR today!
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Thanks!
Jean
Please enjoy this excerpt from TEXAS PROTECTOR:
She was halfway down the alley after exiting through the back of the club when he grabbed her.
She swung around, ready for battle.
Texas Healer Page 19
