Noah! Her heart cried as her lungs screamed. This wasn’t the way she wanted to die.
Suddenly, a light appeared overhead. Filtered through the water, she’d almost swear it was a halo. A familiar pair of strong hands grabbed her. Noah banded an arm around her waist, pulled her into the hard line of his body and kicked for the surface.
Kensley broke the surface of the lake and inhaled a sharp breath of air. Shivers raked her. She had to get out of the water but could offer little help as Noah swam for the pier. Through the storm, she craned her neck to see Mick and another officer crouched on the pier reaching over the water for them.
They grabbed her outstretched hands and pulled her to safety. “We got you,” Mick said and wrapped her in an emergency blanket. She turned and watched the other officer help Noah out of the water. He flopped onto the icy pier, gasping like a landed fish. She shoved Mick away and crawled over to her man as he heaved his body into a seated position and leaned against a support beam. He’d looked better, especially with his arm kind of dangling at his side, most likely dislocated. His lips curved into a tired smile, and that’s all she could see. He was alive. She was alive. They had survived.
“Now that you two are safe, can you tell the police I’m not a bad guy and get me out of these cuffs, please.”
Tobias’ irritated voice broken through their special moment, and Kensley turned to see him on his stomach, hands cuffed behind his back.
“He’s a good guy,” Kensley said only to have Noah interrupt her.
“Good guy? Don’t know about that, but he’s damned good in a firefight. None better to have your six. You can let him go.” His attention returned to Kensley, and he mouthed, “I love you,” and rested his head on her shoulder.
“I love you so damn much.” She wrapped her arms around him and lay her head on top of his. They had to get dry and get out of these wet clothes. In a moment, they would. As soon as they both found the energy.
To her left, the placid water rippled, and the gunman popped out of the water like a buoy submerged by a rogue wave, the knife planted below his collarbone. She saw this and watched in horror and in awe at the man’s persistence. All that changed when he brought his gun up.
“No!” Kensley threw herself on top of Noah and held on. He wasted no time rolling and covering her body as multiple guns fired.
Who? What? She craned her head to see the gunman now floating, face down in the water. Another angle of her head and she spotted a gun in Noah’s hand.
“Did you just pull that from the crack of your ass?” Mick asked.
She spared a glance at Mick, standing next to them with his gun still locked on the floating body.
“Something like that,” Noah groaned and handed his weapon to Mick.
Kensley peered into Noah’s face, wondering why he was so furious when they had both survived. “Are you okay?”
“Am I okay?” Roughly, he ran his hands through her hair, over her face and shoulders. “Don’t you ever do that again.” He alternated between shaking her and smothering her in his embrace.
Kevin. This is about Kevin. Kensley sunk into his chest and held him as he held her. He trembled, but she knew this wasn’t from the cold.
“I could’ve lost you!” He shook her again.
She held on, refusing to let go. “Never. You can’t lose me because I’m yours and I’m not going anywhere. I love you, and you’re stuck with me,” she murmured into his neck and kissed her way up the thick column to his lips.
Their kiss was a promise of a life filled with love and passion, of sunrises and sunsets. There would be losses and pain, mountains, and valleys, but as long as his lips met hers every time she needed them to, they would be all right.
Voice escalating with every syllable, Tobias just had to destroy their moment. “Can someone please get me out of these god damn cuffs? Today.”
Thirty-Four
The day was balmy, the sun broke through the clouds, and for the first time in weeks, it wasn’t snowing. A warm front had come through, and snow had actually melted enough to be noticeable. Today was a perfect day for a parade and a visit to the cemetery.
Kensley parked outside the wrought iron gates. With a bouquet of daisies, she walked thirty rows in and fifty plots across. The first time she visited, she counted the rows. It helped to stop her from hyperventilating and passing out. Now, it was root memory.
The past few days had been busy with the story breaking about the Morretti nephews and the plot to gain his illegal money locked away in offshore accounts. The FBI came to town to collect the safe and the bodies. Forensic discovered it was Noah’s bullet that killed Pauly Sisto, the nearly decapitated man near the porch. Brandan Morretti bled out, crawling into the woods, trying to get away. By the time the police tracked him down hours later, the wolves had nibbled on the body.
If that weren’t enough, tomorrow, Noah had surgery scheduled on his shoulder to repair all the new damage he’d done.
She spotted the black marble headstone before she reached it. At the time, the pomp and circumstances of his military funeral angered her. She didn’t want the flag they presented. Today, before she left for the cemetery, she removed the shadow box from the bottom of her closet and placed it on the mantle, next to Kevin’s military photo, where it belonged.
She stopped in front of the headstone and inhaled the crisp, pine-scented air. She’d never admitted how beautiful the place was, how peaceful with the rolling hills, manicured lawn, trees. She’d picked the perfect place for his internment. He would’ve approved.
At this point, her knees usually weakened, and her gut threatened to empty its contents. That didn’t happen today. Today, her stomach was calm. She wasn’t happy, she could never be happy coming to this place, seeing his name and the date of his death engraved in marble. However, the overwhelming grief had subsided, leaving guilt in its place.
Kevin never found that special someone. He never met the woman he planned to bring home to meet their grandmother and her. No wedding to plan. No home to buy and decorate. No baby names to argue over. He would never have any of that while she… With Noah, the possibility was there.
Kensley sunk to her knees and carefully arranged the flowers. Only then did she trace the cold letters of his name. He was more than a few letters of the alphabet strung together. He was, forever will be, her beloved, little brother.
And there it was, the familiar pain swelling in her heart. Once again, she closed her eyes and embraced it like a lost lover.
The scent of that cheap body spray he’d drown himself in, drifted past her nostrils followed by the unexpected weight across her shoulders. It wasn’t real. It was all a figment of her imagination. If she opened her eyes, reality would come crashing in. The hint of arms circling her shoulders and a solid body at her side wasn’t real, couldn’t be real. So, she kept her eyes closed and held onto the fantasy her brother was here, beside her, and not six feet below rotting in a casket.
Slowly, she cranked her head to the right and had to brush away the tears leaking between her lids. Like a movie playing on the back of her eyelids, Kevin appeared. He was dressed in jeans and a white Henley, not the dress blues he’d been buried in. She studied him, searching for a halo or some other indication of divinity. But he was just Kevin standing on the grass next to his headstone. His hair was long, brushing his collar and flopped on his forehead the way it was in high school. Also, there was a fullness to his face, a softness boot camp had stripped away. Then it hit her. This was the Kevin she remembered before he signed up, before he became a badass. This was her baby brother, not the battle-hardened marine. But he wasn’t real and God how she wished he was.
“This is some stupid dream, right?” She didn’t need confirmation, yet still asked. He shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
Can’t fool you. Yeah. It’s a dream.
She should be sad but wasn’t. “Now, you come for a visit?”
It was time. It is time.
That sounded ominous, but she had no fear. How could she when all she felt was deep, abiding love.
I will always be with you, Sis. But I don’t need you, not anymore. Someone else needs you, and you should be with him. Not me.
“But—”
The hint of a kiss brushed her temple.
No buts. No tears. No sorrow. Only love. Warmth surrounded her, and she basked in a light pulled from within their bodies. It was time to move on and let something else replace the hurt, yet she held on a bit longer, unwilling to accept the finality.
Love you, Kev.
With a last hug, Kensley opened her eyes. She laid on the dead winter grass, curled into a fetal position in front of Kevin’s headstone. She looked to her left, and no one was there, but above her, clear blue skies and bright sunshine.
She climbed to her feet, dusted off the bits of dirt and snow clinging to her coat and jeans. A glance around the cemetery confirmed she was alone. The only visitor. Her gaze landed on the headstone, on Kevin’s name carved deep.
The ache in her chest remained, but it wasn’t a boulder anymore. It wasn’t a burden she couldn’t bear. She leaned down and dropped a kiss to the icy marble, and without another look, headed out the cemetery. Her footsteps steady, she followed the strands of music coming from the center of town.
She’d missed the parade with the high school marching band and mascot. Plus, the colorful floats and the homecoming king and queen that doubled as Mr. and Miss Sessory Corners. The crowds hadn’t dispersed due to the foot truck contest. Almost every type of ethnic cuisine was available. For one day the town’s palate increased from Italian, Mexico and Chinese.
The exotic aromas made her stomach growl, but she kept walking to Town Hall, the center of all the fanfare. The street in front of Town Hall was blocked, repurposed for a stage and podium for the speaker and seating for the spectators. The overflow crowds were cordoned behind police tape. There weren’t many behind the tape, and she easily made her way to the front for a bird’s eye view of Noah being introduced by her father, the bastard. When it came to her father, there would be no forgive or forget.
She spotted Officer Mick on the other side of the tape. He waved her over and lifted the tape for her to scoot under. “Thanks.”
He leaned close and murmured, “I have it on good authority the DA will offer you six months of probation and community service for the assault.”
That was a relief. “Thanks, Mick. For everything.” She touched his forearm in appreciation.
“Also, just so you know,” Mick whispered, “That night Noah had you slung like a sack of potatoes on his shoulder, if you had asked, I would’ve stopped it.”
Kensley smiled and squeezed his arm, grateful for his explanation, though not needing it. “Thanks, Mick. I know you would have.” She went to stand behind the last row of seats. In the front row, seated with the dignitaries, she spotted an elderly man in a wheelchair and a gray-haired woman next to him, Noah’s grandfather and mother. They were happy to fly in for his speech. The surprise on Noah’s face was worth it when she brought him to their hotel room. The three of them had been so grateful, but she didn’t do it for gratitude. In two weeks, they’d be in South Carolina for his grandfather’s birthday and she’d meet the rest of the family.
Noah walked up to the podium somewhat reluctantly, as if he really didn’t want to be there. He wasn’t one for the spotlight. He’d traded his jeans for a pair of dark slacks, a white shirt, and black tie under a dark V-neck sweater and a tweed blazer. He looked like a professor with his neatly trimmed beard—a really sexy professor with his arm in a sling. Add dangling from a window and carrying a one-hundred-and-fifty-pound wall safe to the roof collapse, and it was a miracle he came away with only re-injuring his rotator cuff and torn ligaments. The doctor said he’d never throw a football more than twenty yards, but he would live. That was good enough for them.
He took his time pulling a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket and smoothing it flat.
“You can do this, baby,” she murmured, nervous for him.
Noah cleared his throat and began to speak, but his words came out muffled. Realizing he was too tall, or the podium and microphone were too low, he angled the microphone higher. In the end, he still had to lean down to be heard.
“I want to thank the Mayor and the City Council for the invitation to represent myself and my fellow veterans on Founder’s Day. Serving my country was, and will always be a defining moment in my life, a moment filled with immense pride.” Polite applause broke out, causing him to pause and look out at the crowd. “My pride doesn’t stem from the combat I saw or the purple heart I received. My pride comes from the unit I served with. The men I will forever call my brothers. The men I who fought and died by my side. Dominic Pearson, Jim Brusco…and Kevin Nevell.”
Kensley froze as her heart exploded in her chest. She didn’t expect him to speak about Kevin. Veterans Affairs was the topic of discussion, not Kevin.
He paused again and white-knuckled the sides of the podium. “Some of you know Kevin. He grew up right here in Sessory Corners. Played little league on the Mable Street fields and basketball on the varsity team in high school. He fancied himself an athlete until he found his true calling in the Marines. Last year, Kevin made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.” He paused, his voice breaking.
No one stirred. Palpable silence encompassed Town Hall as they waited for him to continue. Noah stared into the audience, his gaze skimming the faces. He was floundering. He needed a lifeline, and she had no idea how to toss him one. Then his gaze landed on her. Surprise transformed into a sad little smile, but this wasn’t a moment for sadness. She threw him a kiss and sent him her love. Whatever he had to say, she was okay with it. While her loss would always be an ache in her heart, Kensley had found peace.
It was time to live again.
For herself.
For Noah.
For the future.
“A sacrifice Kevin made for our freedom.” Noah spoke the words in front of an audience. However, they were directed to her, and she understood what he couldn’t say out loud. Two men went to Afghanistan. One man came home. It was a coin toss. Noah could’ve been the one buried six feet, and the love they’d found would never have been.
Kevin gave them a gift, a chance to find each other amidst the heartache. A chance for a future filled with love and hope. Now that she understood, Kensley wouldn’t waste a single moment.
“So, on this Founder’s Day, I want to honor the heroes we lost, starting with Kevin Nevell, a hometown boy who sacrificed his life to save mine. I can never repay the gift he gave me. All I can do is remember him and live the life he would’ve wanted me too with the woman I love. For that, I am, and will forever, be eternally grateful.”
To the sound of applause, Noah folded his few sheets of paper, tucked them in his back pocket and stroll off the stage without shaking a single extended hand. Hands in his pockets, he jogged down the few steps, his head down, not really looking where he was going yet veered unerringly toward her. She ran to him, meeting him in the middle of the center aisle. No words were necessary. She opened her arms and drew him into her embrace. Tension rolled off him in waves. He stood there, a block of wood.
Vaguely, she was aware of the spectacle they’d caused and didn’t give two shits about anyone except Noah. She rubbed his shoulders and wanted to say, ‘Thank you for telling them about Kevin. Thank you for understanding, for being my advocate, for everything.’ Instead, she whispered, “Love you,” because their future started now.
Noah sighed, and he pulled her in tight. His lips covered hers in a slow, sensual kiss that took her breath away. “Love you more.”
Epilogue
“Just like this trip was your prerogative?” They sat on the private balcony of their suite overlooking Niagara Falls. The sound of the water tumbling over the edge, crashing to the rocks below, was a soothing rumble, along with the mist clinging in the air. A cool breeze
caressed her shoulders. It was probably the last warm day where one didn’t need a coat. But it wasn’t the breeze that fired her blood.
Kensley had no idea what her husband of two years had just said. Her mind was elsewhere, on the future. God, there was so much to do. So much to plan. And all of it excited and terrified her. But right now, she was giddy though she hid it well.
Noah had no idea as he sipped his bourbon and watched her over the rim of his glass. “Well, are you going to open it?” he said, anticipation edged his voice. His gaze dipped to the square, velvet box he’d set on her dessert plate.
“I have a gift for you also.” She deflected his question and pulled a slim box out of her pocket and slid it over the table. “I guess we both lied.” As if they weren’t going to get each other gifts for their second anniversary.
He brought the box to his ear and shook it. “Too small for a watch. What did you get me?”
“Stop that! You’re gonna break it.”
“Hmm. That’s interesting.” He put the box down. “You first.”
The eagerness on his face was contagious. She tore the ribbon off and smoothed her hand over the velvet box. Whatever the box contained, regardless of how beautiful and expensive, it wouldn’t top her gift. She opened the box and gasped. A diamond bracelet. “This is—this is…”
“Not as beautiful as you.” Stunned, she hadn’t realized he’d left his seat until he took the strand out the box and slipped it around her wrists. It was cold against her skin, sending a chill up her arm. The series of kisses along her throat sent a different kind of sensation down her spine.
She angled her head for a kiss and was drawn out of the chair and into his arms. The kiss took on a life of its own, deepening, lengthening, and the passion spinning out of control as it always did between them. He picked her up and sat her in his lap. His lips skimmed her jawline, his trimmed beard gently abrading her skin. His hand slipped to the inside of her knee, and beneath her bottom, he hardened.
Not yet. Not until he opened his gift.
If I Love You Page 24
