Bella’s mind was spinning. It was almost like he was trying to tell her something. It sounded like he was talking about her. But how could he know? This guy, Blaze, helped people to clear their names. How could it be he had come stumbling up her mountain? She was too afraid to ask, too afraid to hope. Her mom’s words, trust your heart, kept hammering at her, but she was reluctant to say more now. She needed to think.
When Blaze got up to go check on the potatoes and corn, she excused herself to go use the restroom. Who in the heck was Blaze Marino? Her stomach lurched as she shut the bathroom door. Could she trust him?
Bella splashed cold water on her face and looked in the ancient speckled mirror above the sink. What just happened outside? Her mind was spinning. Should she tell him who she was? Should she keep quiet and see if he revealed anything else? Could she let him slip out of her life tomorrow and not take advantage of this opportunity? Bella took several deep breaths trying to calm down. Her mother’s words kept coming back to her. Trust your heart.
“Hey, Bella, I’m putting the steaks on now. Everything should be ready in five minutes. Watch the barbecue beans for me, okay?” She heard Blaze call through the door.
“Okay,” she managed to get out. When she heard the screen door close behind him she cracked open the bathroom door, and seeing the coast was clear, she crossed to the kitchen and took the lid off the beans and gave them a stir. The pungent aroma of the barbecue sauce he added struck her, but they were still cold. She replaced the lid.
Her heart still hammering in her chest, she watched him from the kitchen window. Could he be trusted? He was whistling softly and appeared so at ease as he lifted the lid off the grill, and set the steaks in the center. Replacing the lid, he stood watching the sun begin its descent and continued to whistle his tune, smiling.
Bella shook her head, and whirled around away from the window. She noticed the table was set, and there was even a checkered plastic table cloth on her old wooden table. There was also a bottle of wine sitting uncorked, and everything looked so cozy. She turned to look out the window and Blaze was now looking at the book she had been reading, smiling down at it. He turned it over to scan the back, and read the synopsis. He laughed softly and glanced at the cover once more, and Bella had to suppress a giggle when she noticed Blaze puffing out his chest, and flexing his biceps while looking at the male model on the cover once more.
Bella, who had been feeling strange, sick, and confused until now, was finally able to let out the breath that she hadn’t known she’d been holding. Somehow, that little action set her mind at ease. He was worried she found the man on the cover more attractive than him, and it gave her a bit of confidence. That one little thing. Her butterflies were still there, but they had settled down. Yes, he was okay. He must be. Just maybe him coming here hadn’t been a coincidence; just maybe something in her life could go right.
Bella ran out to the porch and the open door clanged shut behind her.
Caught red handed, Blaze quickly dropped the book onto Bella’s chair a bit embarrassed to be caught red-handed, but Bella just threw herself into his arms. And she was crying, but laughing too.
“What’s wrong Bella?” he asked, worry and fear consuming him all at once.
“I’m just so glad you are here,” she muttered into his chest. “These past four days have been so wonderful. Thank-you for making my birthday special.” She hadn’t meant to reveal it was her birthday, but it had just slipped out. She felt such relief; he seemed to be a regular guy with regular worries, and his job was similar to the character in a book. Was that just a coincidence; the heroine being in trouble another coincidence? She thought about meeting Graham and Clara in the park and wasn’t sure any of this was coincidental at all. He might be able to help her, if only she had the courage to ask. He could be her answer to all her problems—someone was watching over her.
“I’m glad I met you too Bella, so glad.” He held her close as her tears and thudding heart subsided. He didn’t want to push. He’d already gone further than he dared. She needed to take the next step. She needed to trust him. But there was one thing he could say that might make it a bit easier he thought, and so he dared to reveal something that had been bothering him for the last two days. “I didn’t know I could care about someone again, Bella. But I care. I care about you.”
Bella gasped and looked up into his blue eyes. They looked down on her fiercely, possessively, and she felt in her heart the words were true, even though her mind may have still had doubts. Many doubts. But her mom’s dying words were to trust her heart and that is what she needed to do. Later tonight, she would tell him everything. How? She didn’t know yet, but it was the only thing that would or could give them a chance. She had to trust her heart.
Standing up on tiptoes, Bella reached for Blaze’s face. “I care about you too, Blaze. I do,” and she pulled his face the remaining inches between them and pressed her lips to his, and when his tongue sought entrance to her mouth, she opened and let him into her heart.
***
Blaze held her until he felt she had settled then pulled back enough until he could see her face. "I'm glad I am here too. Is there something I can do?" he offered, "I can tell something is bothering you.”
She shook her head at her folly embarrassed by her show of emotions. "I'm sorry. No, not now. Later, maybe. I just want to enjoy the rest of this day with you. Now get those steaks off the grill before you overcook them," she teased.
"Oh, shit," he rumbled. He’d nearly forgotten about the steaks, but he didn't need to worry as they were done to perfection. He felt in his heart that Bella was beginning to crack. He just hoped she would let him in.
***
The meal went well, and Bella pushed her thoughts and doubts to the back of her mind, and focused on learning more about Blaze, and even told him about some of her childhood stories. They sat there, and finished the bottle of wine just as the sun was setting. Blaze held his hand out to Bella, and told her, "Come, I have a little surprise."
"Another one? No, really? You’ve done enough already," she laughed, pulling back shaking her head. "You didn't go out and buy me some other appliance, did you?" she asked, joking with him. She hoped not, as she was working up the courage to ask him for another favor, a much more personal one.
"It's something small, I promise." His blue eyes looked on her with tenderness as she stood on the porch waiting for him while he ran to his rental to get the surprise.
It did turn out to be something small, but it was perfect for Bella as it brought back so many fond childhood memories of sharing her birthday with the nation.
When he whipped out a packet of sparklers from behind his back, she almost clapped her hands in delight. She couldn't help the words that slipped out next, "Truly the best birthday I’ve had in a long time."
Blaze’s eyes widened once more. She mentioned it earlier but she had been so emotional he didn’t comment on it. "It's your birthday?" he asked softly.
She nodded.
"Happy Birthday, Bella. I wish I'd have known . . ."
"What . . . you would have bought me two refrigerators?" she teased, grabbing for the sparklers like a greedy child. “These are perfect.” And they were.
He laughed at her quick come back. "No, but I would have gotten a cake instead of the strawberry shortcake I put in the refrigerator."
"I share my birthday with the anniversary of our nation, puh-lease, strawberry shortcake is my birthday cake. Now find me something to light these. I love sparklers," she said as she ripped open the package.
"Okay, well, if you say so, but I like chocolate myself, in case you want to know. And my birthday is next month."
His words were playful, but they gave her pause instead. He was saying it like he would be around next month, or at least available. Her butterflies began to swarm. Her faith in this man growing.
Blaze’s eyes now glowed in the darkness as he approached her with the long lighter he purchased to help spark up t
he grill.
But instead of handing her the lighter, he captured her around the waist and pulled her to him. His next words threw her. It was like he had been reading her mind. "I'd like to see you again, Bella. I don't know how, but this isn't over, not by a long shot." The day had been perfect. He knew without a doubt he couldn’t give her up.
Her heart soared as his lips claimed hers, and she kissed him back showing him how much she too didn't want this to end. But she also knew once he learned the truth about her, he might also run right out of her life and never look back. There was so much at stake, so much to risk, but she felt he was worth it.
As Blaze kissed Bella, he knew the words he'd spoken were true. Truer than any words he'd spoken to a woman in a very long time. He just hoped when she found out who he was, a bounty hunter, whose job it was to bring her in and bring her to justice, she'd give him the chance to explain how he wanted to help her. It was no longer an option to drag her back to Florida so they could throw the book at her, lock her in jail, and then throw away the proverbial key. This woman was meant to be in his life.
The sparklers slipped from her hand, clattering onto the porch as the kiss deepened, and with that kiss came the thundering need Bella always felt when she was this close to Blaze. Fireworks forgotten, she wanted this man now. They could make their own fireworks. She needed him in every way. One last time before reality set in and she might lose him. Scraping her fingers across his back through his shirt, she felt his muscles answer in reply. She also felt his arousal between them.
For him too, the desire he felt for Bella was intense and quick. He didn't know her thoughts mimicked his, and she, too, was thinking just one more time. This might be it. He swung her into his arms in one fluid motion, intending to stalk into the cabin and make love to Bella, but instead something terrified him, caught his eye, and he jumped off the porch with Bella in his arms rolling her into the tall grass. She screeched in surprise as they tumbled into the weeds and was about to protest when he shushed her.
"I saw two guys with guns, stay low," he whispered fiercely, peering through a break in the grass. He also pushed her behind him so he could be her shield.
He caught sight of something shiny and knew all too well what it was—the glint of metal, along the barrel of a large gun, a rifle. Two men stood about seventy-five yards back, and were taking a position behind the Great Elm that marked the turn in her driveway.
Blaze scouted the position of the two men again; they appeared to be conferring behind that tree and he was certain they’d spotted him as he dove into the tall grass with Bella. Their only chance for escape was to go into the house, or go for the truck, while that conversation continued. They didn’t have a second to lose. His gun was in the truck, and in the cabin they would be sitting ducks. He made his choice. "No questions Bella, but we need to make a run for the truck. We can't stay here, and I've got a gun in there." He pointed indicating his vehicle just ten yards off.
"A gun?" She looked behind her confused and terrified at the same time. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Who would have guns on her property? She knew it had to be the Romans. The police would not have come alone or quietly. Again the floor had been ripped out from under her. Fate was cruel just when she began to have hope.
No quicker had she time to murmur, "A gun?" he had her hurtling through the grass once more to his truck. Her heart slammed into her ribcage when she heard the first crack of the rifle piercing the silence, and then there was another crack as the door Blaze swung open was hit with a resounding clash of metal.
Blaze pushed Bella inside the truck and then crawled in over her. There was no way he would make it round to his side. His keys were out, and in the ignition, and before Bella knew what was happening, the truck was roaring through the weeds and to the road. She turned in her seat to gaze out at her property to see if she could catch sight of who the possible shooters were, but saw noting. Then Blaze screamed for her to put her head down, as yet another round went off causing the glass in the back window to shatter spraying into the backseat. She felt ridiculous for the stupid error that could have taken her head off.
Her head was down on the seat between them as the truck veered to its side and took the turn onto the road, and down the mountain at a speed that would have terrified her even more if she’d been looking at the drop offs on either side of them. "Bella get my gun, in the glove box," Blaze demanded and even in her panic, she managed to do as she was told not even questioning why he had a gun.
When she popped the compartment to his glove box, the contents had shifted around, and she grabbed the gun easily, but his wallet spilled out as well. She saw his badge, his ID glowing in the dashboard light, and in large letters underneath his name were the words BOUNTY HUNTER. In an instant it all made sense. The thundering in her head resounded as blood rushed to her ears, and this time it wasn’t from the sound of gunfire. She immediately felt nauseous.
She knew who Blaze Marino was now and louder than the bullets, louder than the thunder the other night, was the sound of her heart shattering, being torn asunder into millions of tiny pieces.
In that moment, she didn't know who was worse, the devil chasing after her, or the devil sitting right beside her in the truck. What she did know was it was all over for her. She had welcomed him into her home, into her heart, and he had taken what he could before he planned to collect his bounty. Anger and sadness, disappointment and despair threatened to swallow her whole.
Blaze saw her eyes, and her stricken face. Bella knew. That knowledge, and her look of horror, at him, lay like a lead weight in his stomach.
"I can explain." He gave her another quick glance as she pulled herself onto the seat next to him.
"Like hell!" She made a grab for the door handle looking like she was going to bolt; he grabbed her wrists, and hauled her to him.
"Don't make me cuff you Bella. You've got really bad guys after you, and believe it or not you’re safer with me." His fear made him say the words harsher than he intended.
"Sure, bounty hunter," Bella's voice was deep with sarcasm as she spit the words at him with as much distaste as she could muster. "You've been planning on cuffing me all along. I just want to know if you planned to do that before, after, or while you fucked me?"
His eyes were like shards of glass, and she saw the vein throbbing in his temple as he quickly shot her another look. "You were never just a fuck, Bella. Don't talk like that. I don't like it. Now let me focus on getting down this hill, and finding shelter, and keeping you safe. I think I lost them for now. I’m not seeing lights, so we have a good head start on them. Their car was parked up the road from the driveway."
"Aren't you observant?" came her cynical reply. His answer was to hold her wrist more firmly. "Ow, that hurts," she winced, and Blaze immediately regretted his actions. He loosened his hold, but wasn’t willing to let her go. Not until she calmed down.
"Bella, I'm just doing my job, trying to keep you safe, so you don't get killed."
"What does it matter? They'll kill me in jail too. Vincent Roman has a far reach, and he won’t let me testify against his sons. He wants me to take the blame. You might as well just let them kill me now. If you bring me in they’ll just kill me later. What's the difference? Oh wait, your bounty," Bella huffed, and pulled out of his grasp sliding over to her side of the car.
She was pissed. Royally pissed, and she needed to think. There was no place safe for her, not anymore. And there was no one she could trust.
As she pulled away from him, he couldn’t blame her for feeling betrayed. He hated that this hurt her, and as he drove them towards safety, he prayed she gave him the chance to explain.
***
Bella and Blaze were safely ensconced in a hotel in Gatlinburg. He hadn't wanted to drive too far that evening and wanted to get off the road as quickly as he could. He'd contemplated calling in reinforcements but he and Bella needed to talk first. She had remained quiet the entire ride, slowly simmering he presumed,
while he drove.
Even when he stopped at the hotel, parked in the rear, and asked her to put on his hoodie, and keep her hair covered, she quietly complied, but remained mute. She didn't have to speak. Her snapping emerald eyes spoke volumes.
She followed him inside, and stood with her back to the receptionist while he checked in. He had a bag, she did not. With her arms crossed in front of her, the bulky sweatshirt marked her for a sleepy tourist. Only he knew she was fuming, as he played his part with the receptionist in case enquiring minds, the hit men Vincent Roman hired, took the time to check every hotel in this busy tourist area.
Picking up his bag from the floor, he placed his arm around her shoulder to steer her towards the bank of elevators with a, "We are in room 544, darling."
Her response was too shrug his arm off her shoulders and stomp to the bank of elevators on her own two legs.
He shook his head morosely. This was going to be much more difficult than even he anticipated. He hadn’t wanted her to find out like this. When she jabbed the button for the fifth floor as he entered, she purposefully crossed to the other side of the spacious conveyance. Yes, it was going to be very difficult, and he still had no clue where to start.
***
When the elevators stopped, she was the first out, and he trailed her to the room. She stepped aside as he swiped the lock with his hotel key card. He let her pass, and followed behind her hoping she’d hear him out and give him a chance to explain. And he knew he had much to explain.
He dropped his bag and was about to speak when he heard the sound of the bathroom door closing none too gently.
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