by Lyn Stone
He looked up again. "I promise you won't ever have cause to worry about anything like that happening. I won't go back to the job. I'll work with Dad or do something else. Something further back from danger."
"No, Ryan. You were born to do what you do. I can't imagine your doing anything else. Did they catch the man?" Nina asked. She didn't have to specify which man.
"Yeah, I got him," Ryan said. "I knew who he was and where he might be. That same night after I saw what was left of my house, heard what was left of Kath and Chrissy, I found him. He was establishing his alibi at the time."
"You arrested him?" Nina asked tentatively.
"No, I shot him. I identified myself. He ran. I knew he would. I don't think it would have mattered if he hadn't. Lucky for me he had a gun in his hand at the time. And no, I didn't put one there." Ryan's eyes were as steady as his voice. "It doesn't haunt me. I was justified."
"Yes, you were. Let's go back to the cabin now," Nina suggested as she stood. "You could use some rest and so could I."
He joined her and reached down to take her hand, lacing his fingers through hers as they walked. "Nina?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry you had to hear all that, but I think I can discuss it now without getting so wound up. It's just that today was the first time I've actually talked about it to anyone since it happened. I feel better, but now you're shook up. That can't be good for you in your condition. If there is a condition."
She squeezed his hand, returning his bittersweet smile. "Don't worry. I'll have some oatmeal and I'll be just fine."
He actually laughed. "What am I gonna do about your eating habits? I'll bet your cholesterol is minus zero!"
"What if I make us hamburgers just like Pete's?" she asked, trying to sound cheerful.
He rolled his eyes and groaned, his good humor either restored or pretended. Either way, Nina knew he would be all right now.
What she wasn't sure about was whether she should marry him. She had known all along Ryan had baggage. She just hadn't realized how heavy it was. She glanced up at him. He did look relieved. After that long flight, their rather vigorous lovemaking and only enough sleep to muddle the mind, he hadn't needed to rehash the worst tragedy of his life.
She would have to wait and see. This love of theirs, powerful as it seemed, was too new to trust completely.
* * *
Ryan sat at the table slicing potatoes into strips while he watched Nina fry the burgers. He liked the way they worked in tandem. Hell, they loved in tandem. They would be better than good together. He also knew she needed some space, some time to think. He had tried very hard to stay calm while telling her about Kath and Chrissy, but it had been harder than he'd thought it would be. It turned out to be something of a catharsis for him. He realized now that he should have told someone else first.
Amazing how much it had helped, just getting it all out there. It had upset her. She had cried. He knew Nina well enough to know those tears had been for his family and for him.
"You're a generous woman," he said, dropping the last pieces of potato on the plate and standing up to join her at the stove.
"I know," she replied. "Otherwise I would be stirring in raisins and cinnamon right about now." She shoveled the meat patties onto a plate with the spatula.
He added oil to the pan and waited for it to heat. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She busied herself arranging the hamburgers on buns, adding the condiments to both. "Maybe I should tell you I plan to sleep on the sofa tonight." Ryan shrugged. "It's a little narrow unless we sleep stacked up, but I don't mind. You can have the top this time."
She turned to him and placed a hand on his forearm. "Give me some time to think, Ryan."
"Sleep with me. Just let me hold you while you think, hmm? We don't have to make love."
Reluctantly, she nodded. He knew he shouldn't push, but he just didn't think he could be apart from her tonight after all they had said and done today.
* * *
The next morning, Ryan woke up feeling better than he had in years. Sunlight streamed through the window and the September breeze cooled his skin where the sheet had slipped away.
Nina lay curled next to him, her dark hair silky against his shoulder. He drew the covers over her bare arm and watched her sleep, breathed in the sweet scent of her and felt the soft rise and fall of her breasts against his body.
The silver frame on the dresser caught his eye and he couldn't help the small jolt at seeing the unexpected. Dad must have put the picture there, or maybe Trish had when she'd decorated the place.
Ryan stared at the photo for a long time, letting the memories flood back. Good memories. None of them involved Point Tipsy. Fair as most redheads, Kath always avoided the beach. And she hadn't liked boats at all.
"I didn't move it," Nina said softly, awake now and watching him. "I left it there last night on purpose. To see your reaction," she admitted, looking a little ashamed of herself.
Ryan smiled down at her. "You don't feel like you're competing with ghosts, do you?"
She winced. "A little, maybe. Not that you should forget them. That wouldn't be right, either."
"Couldn't if I wanted to," he admitted. "But they were part of another life, Nina. I was a different man then, I think. I can't feel anything of the old one in here anywhere now, and that's probably just as well."
He got up and put the picture away, touching the two faces with a fingertip and smiling back at them before he closed the drawer and turned away. They would always be there in a part of his heart and mind, but that was all right. The goodbye had been said and he knew they would wish him well in what was left of his life. He would have wished the same for them.
Nina was watching him, but looked away when he turned.
"Ready for breakfast?" he asked. "I'm starved."
"No," she said. "What I'd really like to do is go over to the mainland and find a pharmacy."
He couldn't contain a grin and by God, it felt genuine. "Pregnancy kit, huh?"
She nodded. "I can't stand not knowing. You must be fairly curious to find out yourself."
"It might be too soon to know. Suppose you weren't pregnant before and it happened yesterday?"
"Omigod! We didn't use anything! I was so... I didn't even think about it then!"
"Because you were fairly sure you already were, right?"
She didn't have to answer, it was written all over her face. "You didn't think of it, either," she accused.
He smiled. "Is that what you'd call a Freudian slip?"
"No, I wouldn't. You certainly can't blame Freud for it."
"Me? I'd like a boy. Fishing buddy," he told her. "But if you insist on a girl, I think I can remember how to screw Barbie heads back on."
Nina laughed. "You're okay with it? You're sure?"
"I'm okay with it." He leaned down, gave her a lingering kiss, and tugged the sheet away. "So get up already. After you turn the little stick pink and I pick out the teddy bear, we have a wedding to plan."
Nina slipped off her T-shirt and held out her arms. "Not before I get the proposal I deserve. Come here, Mac."
"Uh-oh, she's calling me Mac, a sure sign of displeasure. You had a proposal, you greedy little beach bum," he argued. "Didn't I already get down on one knee? Did I dream that?"
"Well, it didn't exactly match my dream," she told him as he lowered himself over her and nuzzled her neck. "What I had in mind definitely didn't involve your knee. Are you okay with this?"
"Not yet, but I think I will be in a minute." He slipped off his shorts and brushed his body against hers, teasing, seducing, persuading, and then loving her for all he was worth.
"So, Nina Caruso," he growled, "will you marry me now?"
"The only word I can think of is yes," she said with a sigh of satisfaction. "See? It's all in the way you put the question."
"Since you're only thinking about a yes, maybe I'd better ask you again." He grinned and nibbled her earlobe.
"I'm okay with that," she murmured as she snuggled even closer. "Ask away."
* * * THE END * * *
