His throat swelled, the physical pain of losing her, never knowing if she survived, moved through his blood like gravel. It burned, and he welcomed it. It gouged and scrapped, and he deserved it. He should never have left her side.
He should have shot Becket and been done with him.
He couldn't look at the wall, the rock that encased his dreams.
Caesar approached a few yards down hill, his hooves clicking
against broken stone. Chris swore, the sound bringing reality. And sheer agony
again.
Through the haze of his mourning, he sensed movement, heard a wet sucking sound before he lifted his gaze.
Abruptly, a hand thrust through the rock, dripping, fingers flexing, struggling to reach and Chris grabbed it and pulled. His grip slipped and he tightened it, nearly crushing the bones, clasping her elbow. He heaved. And Victoria popped through the silvery darkness like a babe from the womb, stumbling, groping for him. His arms crushed around her and they sank to the ground, sliding in the dirt and stones.
' 'Oh Jesus, Tori. Thank God, thank God!" His hands charged roughly over her, assuring him she was here. "I thought I'd
lost you."
She was covered in something slimy and wet, but he didn't care and his hands trembled as he brushed her slick hair off her face. He kissed her and kissed her. She gasped for air, every breath a struggle.
"I heard ... them. There ... in my time. The police."
Epilogue
412 AmyJ. Fetzer
"You're here," he said in wonder. "You're here." He couldn't touch her enough and fell back, draping himself with her.
"Yes, yes." It was finished, and she sobbed happily against his throat, smelling the masculine scents she needed, clinging to the man she loved. "I'm home, Tonto. Now you really have to marry me."
Victoria leaned against the stucco wall of the garden courtyard, smiling at the man rolling in the dirt, children climbing on him like eager puppies. Love, so pure and sweet, bloomed in her heart she didn't think she had room for more. Then she heard their wild laughter and another morsel crept in.
Her gaze lingered on Chris as he suffered the poke of boney elbows and misplaced knees, then shifted to the lone figure curled on a stone bench tucked in the corner. Lucky. Lucky Swift. That always made her smile. He was reading, his glasses sliding down his nose. He glanced at his brothers, amused, and she smothered her laugh when he rolled his eyes, as if their antics were too childish for him. After a thoughtful moment, he removed his glasses, set his book aside, then launched into the pile with a dark growl. The ruckus started all over again, with Chris pleading for mercy.
Victoria decided it was time to show him some.
"Hey, guys." She spoke softly and four dark heads popped
up like toast.
"Momma's home!" they squealed and raced toward her. Chris fell back on his rear, catching his breath and watching
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Amy J. Fetzer
his wife as she crouched, opening her arms and letting their little bodies crash into her.
"Whoa, boys, take it easy," Chris said, but they ignored him and her smile brightened.
Victoria tickled her sons, raining wet, smacky kisses over their dirt-smudged faces.
"Aw Mom, yuck." This came from Cole, even as he leaned in for another.
"You kissed him more than me," her three year old peeped, pouting. Victoria cupped Cain's chubby little face and gave him a noisy one. She brushed her mouth over the top of Lucky's head, as she always did, and his hug tightened.
Closing her eyes, she savored the scent and feel of them wrapped around her. She talked with them, listening intently to every detail of their day, then sensed their restlessness. "Abigale said she made cookies," she whispered like a secret.
"What kind?"
"Hey, do I look like I can cook?" They laughed and scrambled off the floor and into the house. "Wash up first!" Their griping filtered to her as she leaned her head back against the wall, staring at her husband.
"Hi, boss."
His lips quirked at that. She was his hunter now.
"Got any of those kisses left for me?" He moved toward her, his gate roiling and sexy, doing things to her she couldn't control. The star on his chest winked in the afternoon light.
"Tons. And a few other tricks."
He offered her a hand up, and she leaned into his long body.
He kissed her deep and slowly and their bodies fused tightly
with need. f
"Tough hunt?"
She unbuckled her holster, and let it drop to the ground. "The usual." She shrugged, looping her arms around his neck. His hands on her trim hips, Chris anticipated the feel of her fingers in his hair and when it came and he moaned like a tired lion.
"They whipped the tar out of me."
"You're such a marshmallow."
He grinned, knowing it was true. "I've grown to like seeing you in jeans," he said with a glance down. There was no mistaking her for woman in those, he thought, as his hands moved over her waist, up her back, massaging and shaping her
firm body.
"My rear hurts."
He rubbed there, too.
"God, I missed you," he breathed into the curve of her
throat.
"Me too." She tilted her head, staring at his mouth. "I'm
not going out again."
"You wanted to work, Tori."
"I know. But even if it's once in a while, it's too much. Cole lost a tooth, Cain wrote his name, and Lucky, Christ, he's reading Shakespere! My babies aren't babies anymore, and I'm missing all the good stuff."
The roar of a fight starting had them peering around the edge of the door jam. Abigaie shrieked for Victoria's help. He arched a brow in her direction. "You sure?" "No more hunting." She plucked the star off her vest and handed it to him, inclining her head toward the house. "They're the only bounty I'm after."
Chris watched her go, loving her long legged walk, loving Tori and thankful as hell that she took a hunt through dangerous waters—to find him.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy J. Fetzer lives with her family in South Carolina. She is the author of four other historical and time-travel romances published by Zebra Books, including MY TIMESWEPT HEART, THUNDER IN THE HEART, LION HEART and TIMESWEPT ROGUE. Amy loves to hear from readers and you can write to her at P.O. Box 9241, Beaufort, South Carolina, 29904-9241. Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you wish a response. You can also visit Amy's web site The address is http://www.apayne.come/amyfetzer.
Books by Amy J. Fetzer
MY TIMESWEPT HEART THUNDER IN THE HEART
LION HEART
TIMESWEPT ROGUE
DANGEROUS WATERS
Published by Zebra Books
Dangerous Waters Page 40
