“You’re determined not to take credit for rescuing Jacob, aren’t you?”
“I’m not a hero, Molly.”
She touched his hand. “I know. But you’re still a very special man.”
“Damn it.”
Her fingers laced around his. “What does that mean?”
He looked at their hands, then up at her face. “Fill in the blanks.”
She lifted her free hand to his cheek, her green eyes so luminous he could almost feel the warmth of them. “You look tired.”
“I am.”
Her fingertips slid along his jaw, lightly tracing his scar. “Anything I can do…to help you relax?”
“Molly—” he warned, wishing his voice hadn’t gone quite so hoarse.
“We only have one more night, Kyle,” she whispered, her hand still soft against his face. “Do you really want to spend it in separate rooms?”
He reached for her, tugging her roughly into his arms. “No,” he grated against her mouth.
No matter what this would cost him, he didn’t want to spend this night alone.
He laid her against the pillows, his hands on her face, his mouth moving against hers. As she had before, she responded to his every touch with an eager delight that went straight to his ego. She could almost make him believe that he was a hero, he thought in bemusement. That he was whole and strong, someone who deserved the admiration of a woman like Molly.
Even as he helped her out of her clothes, he reminded himself that after this one last night, everything would go back to the way it had been before. She would forget about him soon enough, distracted by her family and her plans to find a new job and a new apartment. There would be plenty of men lined up to try to catch her attention.
As for himself—he would go back to being the broken, brooding loner she had accused him of being. But just for tonight, he needed to make a memory to take back with him when he left.
Maybe in the future he could dream about Molly and the brief time he’d spent with her, rather than being laughed at and lectured in his sleep by a ghost.
The silver anniversary party was a spectacular success. All the months of scheming and planning, all the worry and work were well worth it when Molly saw her mother’s face as so many of the people she loved shouted, “Surprise!”
There was no doubt that Cassie and Jared were flabbergasted. Cassie shed a few tears, and even Jared was caught uncharacteristically off guard. They spent the rest of the afternoon admiring their new kitchen, chiding their family for going to so much trouble on their behalf and spending as much one-on-one time as possible with everyone who’d made the effort to share this day with them.
“You pulled it off, Molly. You really pulled it off.” Shane shook his head in a mixture of admiration and disbelief. “I have to admit there were times when I had my doubts.”
She beamed up at him, remembering the day so many months ago when she’d popped into the barn to tell him about the brilliant idea she’d had for her parents’ anniversary celebration. “I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you, Shane.”
He leaned over to kiss her cheek. “My pleasure. Look at them, will you? They’re holding court.”
Leaning against her brother’s arm, she turned to look at her parents, who sat in the kitchen, chatting with the guests who were all but lined up to speak to them. “They’re having a great time, aren’t they? It’s so good to see everyone here. It’s funny to see so many of the guys with families of their own now, isn’t it?”
Shane looked far across the yard to where Mark Wallace, his wife, Miranda, and the four young children they were raising together were looking at one of the gentle horses Memo had brought around for the children to ride. Other former foster boys mingled around the yard, sharing memories of their time on the ranch, catching up with the people they had known back then, introducing their wives and kids to the place that had meant so much to them in different ways. “It feels good to know we had something to do with so many of them turning out so well.”
“That’s what I wanted this day to be, you know. A reminder to Mom and Dad of how important they’ve been to so many people.”
“Looks like Kyle and Daniel are catching up. They only knew each other for a couple of weeks before Daniel moved on, but they both said they remember each other.”
Following his nod, Molly studied the two men sitting at a table, drinking lemonade and chatting as dozens of others milled around them, laughing and talking, children running and playing, teenagers lounging nonchalantly in clusters. As hard as this event must have been for Kyle, he’d done a good job of hiding his nervousness, she mused. As he had in the past, he tended to stay on the outskirts of the festivities, but he seemed comfortable enough when anyone initiated a conversation with him.
Her parents had been thrilled to see him, along with the other foster boys they hadn’t seen in so long. Cassie had thrown her arms around Kyle, and Jared had shaken his hand warmly and thumped his shoulder in a masculine substitute for a hug. Kyle had seemed pleased, and rather touchingly surprised, that they remembered him so well and were still so obviously fond of him.
Molly had seen Jared and Kyle engaged in a long, apparently somber conversation at one point. She suspected they had talked of Kyle’s wartime experience, and the painful recuperation he’d been through since. If anyone could draw Kyle out about that difficult time, it would be her father, she figured, her chest aching with emotion.
As for herself, she’d had little time to talk to either Kyle or her parents since the party began. She’d been too busy making sure everyone had enough to eat, that the large tubs of ice were refilled with canned drinks, that everyone was included in the conversations and festivities.