“The game became deadly when you had the great good sense to break up with Prince Charming. That meant it was time to sabotage the lodge and take it by force. ” He looked at Bear. “I imagine Dabney’s long-term game was to drive your business into the ground and then make you an offer you couldn’t refuse. ”
Sorrow staggered as they reached the bottom of the gully, and Billy simply swept her into his arms. “Put me down,” she protested at once. “I’m too big to carry. ”
He gave her a little bounce, careful not to jostle her arm. She was soft and full and perfect in his hands. “You feel just right to me. ”
She wrapped her good arm around his neck, and the feel of her was like a missing puzzle piece clicking into place. She whispered in his ear, “Thanks for finding me. ”
Billy pointed his chin toward Bear. “Couldn’t have done it without that man. ”
“Your mom and I would be lost without you, girl. ” Bear’s lip twitched as he spoke, and Billy chuckled to himself, seeing how hard it was for the man to speak warmly. “Thought I’d have to come drag you out of that mine myself. Your sheriff was moving slower than molasses in January. ”
“Wow…rich or not, we’re sitting on a gold mine,” she repeated. “You know what that means? I’m definitely getting an assistant. ”
The men laughed and Sorrow did, too, and it was a wonderful sound. She tucked her head in his neck and he hugged her closer, managing to carry her effortlessly back to the car.
She’d been wrong—she was a feather in his arms. He could carry her forever if she let him. He hoped she would.
He’d never forget Keri—she’d been his first love, and there was no greater gift than that. But he’d aged a lifetime in a few short years, and his heart and soul had found peace there with Sorrow.
He let Bear walk ahead on the trail. Sorrow nestled close. “Thanks for carrying me. ”
“I was just thinking how there’s nothing better than holding you. ” He hugged her even tighter, overwhelmed by the urge to have her, to make Sorrow his, wanting her with an intensity he’d never experienced before.
She nipped him on the ear, whispering, “I could think of maybe one thing that’s better. ”
They went to Silver City Memorial, where she got bandaged up. Then Billy sped her back to his place, hoping to put that theory to the test.
“You sure you don’t want to lie in bed?” Billy was torn. He wanted to be gentle with Sorrow. But he also wanted to take her, to have her and love her. To take care of her. To let her know he’d be there to do all of those things for the rest of her life if she’d let him.
Sorrow used her good hand to grab a pillow from his couch and toss it in front of the fireplace. “I’m sure I want to lie right here, with you, in front of the fire that you’re about to make for me. ”
He added a couple of pillows to the mix, making a cozy nest for the two of them. “I’m about to make you a fire, am I?”
She nodded, settling under the afghan. “Mm-hm. A nice big hot one. ”
“I best get to it then. ” He squatted in front of the hearth, stacking kindling and logs. He glanced back at her as he twisted sheets of newspaper into rolls for tinder. The sight of her arm in a cast made him weak, but it could’ve been worse—she could’ve needed surgery. Or he might not have found her at all.
He forced such thoughts from his mind. He’d be there with her, enjoying the moment, looking with hope to the future while putting away regrets of the past.
“Hey, Sheriff. ” Sorrow had a saucy light in her eye, and it was one he’d already come to
recognize. “You almost done over there?”
He chuckled. God, he loved this girl. “Oh, I’m done…with the fire, that is. ” He stood, wiping his hands on a rag. The kindling began to crackle and pop, warm at his back as he faced her. “I was thinking maybe you wanted me to do something else. ”
“How’d you know?” She pulled aside the afghan for him to join her. “You’re going to join me. ”
“Join you?” He knelt beside her.
“Definitely. A girl gets cold on the floor. And lonely. ”
“Cold and lonely. We can’t have that. ” He slid in next to her, and she turned to face him, wrapping her good arm around his neck. Their bodies fit like two puzzle pieces. “You okay?” he asked, helping her adjust her injured arm.
They settled her broken wrist on the floor over her head, nestled in pillows. “I’m good now,” she said.
He sighed, a satisfied sound. “You are. You have no idea how good. ” He stroked his hand up her side. In the hospital, she’d been unable to pull her sweater back over her cast and had become chilled in just her tank top, and so he’d put her in his flannel shirt the moment they got back to his place. And, just as he’d imagined, she was sexy as hell in the oversized red and black plaid. “You warming up?”
Her hand found him beneath the blanket, and she caressed his leg. “It’s getting downright hot in here. ”