She needed so badly to believe him. But…
“My mind did let me down. I was fighting the biggest battle of my life and it checked out. How can I ever trust myself now? How do I know that every time I’m facing a difficult challenge, it won’t just check out again? I have no control whatsoever.”
“Uh-uh.” Greg shook his head. “You’ve got it all wrong.” The passion in his voice was compelling. “Think about it. Sterling and Silverman had taken control of your thoughts. The only way to be free of those two, to let the so-called reformation wear off, was for you to be separated from those thoughts. Your mind had to go numb, not because you couldn’t handle the facts, but so you could free yourself from the brainwashing.”
He sounded so sure. Absolutely and completely certain.
“Are you just saying that because I’m at a low point and you know I need to hear it?”
“What good would that do in the long run?”
“None.”
“Have you ever known me to lie to you? Or anyone else?”
“No.”
“I don’t say things unless they’re true, Beth. You have every reason to trust your mind. Because it found a way to free you from a state that’s considered impossible to escape from without medical help or counseling. Yet you beat all the odds. I’d say that’s pretty impressive. I’d say no one else is likely to get away with telling you how to think again.”
Tears filled Beth’s eyes. Rolled down her cheeks. And kept rolling. Until she was a sobbing mass huddled against Greg’s chest.
Lifting her, he carried her, crying so hard she couldn’t see, to the living room.
Beth cried until she thought she’d never stop. Years of pent-up tension and confusion and hurt spilled onto Greg’s uniform. And then, the tears were gone. Spent.
No longer necessary.
“Thank you.” They were the first words either of them had spoken in almost an hour.
“You’re welcome, Beth.”
“I can’t believe what a good friend you are to me.”
“I love you.”
Beth’s head fell back, her heart pounding quickly. Scrutinizing Greg, she tried to convince herself that the moment was real. That she was real. That it was okay to be feeling what she was feeling.
“I love you, too.” What a relief to say those words.
He lifted her face gently, giving her a soft kiss.
Beth answered him as completely as she could with her weary, aching body, finding new energy in his kiss. His mouth opened against hers and she responded instinctively, until she remembered. And pulled away.
“I’m married.”
His eyes serious, he held her gaze. “I know.”
They’d committed adultery.
Beth got up from the couch, surprised by how shaky she was. She didn’t go far. Just to the other end of the couch.
“I have a business degree,” she said, looking for something positive. She had no life. Maybe her education was someplace to start.
“You can get a divorce, Beth.” Greg moved over, urging her close once again.
She shouldn’t let herself walk back into his arms. But he felt so good. And she was tired of being alone—of being strong all by herself.
“I imagine we can get a quick one, considering the circumstances.”
“We?”
“I figure I have as much of a stake in this as you do.”
She stared at him, hardly daring to hope. “Why?”
He raised one eyebrow. “I can’t very well get married until you can.”
Beth might have started to cry again if she’d had any tears left. Greg had an uncanny way of making the confused seem clear, the impossible quite manageable. She began to chuckle. And then to laugh out loud.
“What’s so funny?” Greg asked. He was trying to sound offended, but the grin on his face ruined the effect.
“Nothing’s funny,” she said, laughing even as she tried to explain. “I just feel so good after so much bad, I can’t keep it in.”
“I take it that’s a yes?”
Beth didn’t need to be asked twice. She wasn’t really sure she’d been asked once, but she didn’t care. Sobering, she placed her lips on Greg’s, kissing him reverently.
“Of course it’s a yes,” she whispered.
Greg’s arms wrapped around her, and Beth wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the night, the rest of her life, loving him.
“Greg?”
“Mmm?” he murmured against her lips.
“Can we go to bed now?”
She thought he nodded, knew he lifted her into his arms, but was asleep before they left the living room.
She had all the nights of her life for making love. That night, she just needed to be welcomed home. By Shelter Valley. By the house that had been waiting for her. By the man who’d rescued her, and made her life complete.
She and Ryan had finally found something that was truly right and good.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5587-0
THE SHERIFF OF SHELTER VALLEY
Copyright © 2002 by Tara Lee Reames
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 M3B 3K9, Canada.
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.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book please contact us at [email protected].
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.eHarlequin.com
The Sheriff of Shelter Valley Page 24
