“I like the sound of that.”
She smiled up at him. For the moment the shadows were gone, but he knew they would return. He knew because there were still days that made him flinch when the memories came back and he suspected it would be the same for her. But this time, when they came, he wanted her to know that he’d be there for her, just as he knew she’d be there for him.
“And one more thing,” he said, his expression turning somber and shining with the integrity she’d come to know and expect from Tommy Bristol. “I will always have your back.” His hands reached between them to cup and cradle her face as if it were the rarest of gems and held her gaze. “Always.”
Tears welled in her eyes. That’s all she’d ever needed.
It’d just taken a while for her to realize it.
EPILOGUE
CASSI PULLED UP HER PANT LEG and Tommy hesitated.
“Tommy…” Cassi warned but there was laughter in her voice.
“I don’t know. I kinda like the idea of being able to find you no matter where you go,” he said, gesturing at the GPS anklet.
“A little mystery is good for any relationship,” Cassi quipped. “Now take it off before I go insane.”
“All right,” Tommy said, unlocking the tracking device and tossing it to the waiting agent. “You’re free and clear. Aside from informal probation for the theft charges, you’re on the path to total law-abiding citizen status. What are you going to do with your newfound freedom and fortune? Thinking of some travel?”
“Actually, I think I’ve done enough traveling for the time being. Right now I was thinking of doing some home shopping. I want a place I can call my own without any bad memories.”
“A fresh start,” Tommy said, nodding. “Sounds good. What did you have in mind?”
She smiled coyly. “Oh, something big enough with room to grow but not so big that it feels cavernous. You know, something homey.”
“Are you saying my apartment isn’t to your liking any longer?” he joked.
“Well, apartment living was never really my style. Besides, your downstairs neighbors have been giving us the evil eye for our nocturnal activities, as they call it.”
Tommy laughed, and the sound warmed her heart and tickled her toes, for it was hard to suppress the memories of their “activities.”
“So, what are you saying? You want to move out?”
“I’m saying…we’re going to need a house of our own when we decide to make it official and tie the knot. Perhaps something near Mama Jo. Oh, and that’s another thing, I want to have some repairs done to her place. Maybe splurge on some new furniture for her.”
“Good luck with that. She’s notoriously stubborn when it comes to those things. I’ve tried for years to get her to let me pay for a new roof but she always puts me off.”
“We’ll see,” she said, grinning as another thought came to her. “You know she’s having a fit over our living situation. Do you ever plan on making an honest woman out of me?”
At that, Tommy sobered. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure.”
She stared at him. “Really?”
“Really. I want to marry you, Cassandra Amelia Nolan. If you’ll have me, that is.”
His uncertainty was endearing. As if she’d say no. She hadn’t wanted to push him but she’d been dreaming of this for a while. Perhaps longer than she realized. And if he was offering…she was going to take it.
She smiled up at him with all the love she felt bursting from her heart and said, “A thousand times yes, Thomas Eric Bristol. Yes!”
Relief flooded his features as she jumped into his arms and he swung her around until she was dizzy. “Thank God,” he said, setting her down. “It was going to be really awkward trying to talk you into having my babies otherwise. It might’ve given Mama Jo a heart attack.”
She laughed. “We can’t have that. We’re going to need her. Neither one of us knows a thing about raising kids!”
“You got that right,” he agreed, but as he nuzzled her neck, he added, “But it’s going to be lots of fun trying to figure it out.”
“You got that right,” she murmured, gazing up at him. “And I can’t wait.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8848-9
THE PAST BETWEEN US
Copyright © 2011 by Kimberly Sheetz
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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*Home in Emmett’s Mill
Table of Contents
Letter to Reader
Title Page
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Books by Kimberly Van Meter
Dedication
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
EPILOGUE
Copyright
The Past Between Us Page 19
