“That was some serious kick-ass Taser action.”
“Not much to it. Just aim and fire at the red dot.”
A low laugh rumbled through him. “You did it, though. Some people wouldn’t have the nerve, but you just marched right in and went for center of mass. Remember last night when I told you I thought you were the most courageous woman I’ve ever met? Yeah. That.”
She swallowed hard. She had a long way to go before she could fulfill that expectation of herself, but she wasn’t about to argue with him.
“I lost my head when she moved the gun from herself to you. I couldn’t let her hurt you.” She paused, her pulse abnormally loud in her ears. “Not before I had the chance to tell you how much I love you.”
She heard his quick intake of breath against her and lifted her gaze to find him looking down at her with a fierce, wild joy.
“What happened to me being the worst possible man in Haven Point for you? I know you don’t want to be with another LEO, and I get it, I do. I don’t know how to change that. I can try to do something else, but I’m afraid I would be miserable.”
That he would even consider doing something else touched her deeply. A soft, sweet peace seeped through her, pure and lovely and healing. There simply wasn’t room for both love and fear in the same heart, she thought.
“Tonight when you were ready to launch yourself at her, broken leg and all, I realized I can’t separate that protector out. I wouldn’t, even if I could. It’s part of you—a huge part. Without it, you wouldn’t be the man I love.”
His eyes darkened with emotion and he lowered his mouth to hers. The tenderness in the kiss staggered her.
“I love you, Andrea. You should know, I’ve never said that to a woman before. I’ve never even wanted to. Only you.”
She couldn’t say the same—nor would she have wanted to. She had loved another man first. Jason had come into her life at the perfect time, to show her for the first time in her life that she was someone worthy of love.
Their marriage hadn’t been perfect, but it had produced two amazing children and had helped her become the woman she was now, someone strong enough to be deeply grateful that she’d been given the chance to love again.
She kissed him and they stayed in the embrace, kissing and touching by the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree her children had decorated, until she was restless and achy and they both were breathing hard. This was not a bad position for a man with a broken leg, she decided. They could certainly figure out how to improvise...
The alarm on her phone suddenly went off and she groaned. “That’s telling me I have ten minutes before I have to go pick up Chloe at the bus stop,” she said.
He made a sound that somehow managed to mingle disappointment and understanding. His mouth found hers again, but right before he kissed her, he drew back, his eyes wide. “With everything that’s happened, I can’t believe I haven’t told you yet!”
“Told me what?” she asked, sitting up beside him and trying to run a hand through the hair he had messed.
“It’s been one hell of an afternoon. I had only been back at the house fifteen minutes when Jackie came over. Before that, I was next door, talking to Herm and Louise and to Christopher.”
“What?” she exclaimed. “Oh, Marshall! How did it go?”
“Good. Better than I ever imagined. I have a son.” His wondering smile made her want to cry, happy tears this time. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I needed to tell him. Yes, you were right. I have a feeling I’d better get used to saying those words.”
There was so much promise in his voice, she shivered.
“It’s a huge relief to have it out there. He seemed...okay with it. Herm and Louise are, too. We’re having a DNA test as soon as we can arrange it, but I don’t need to see the results to know the truth. I don’t think he does, either.”
“Oh. I’m so happy.”
“He’s a troubled teenage boy. Everything won’t be roses all the time, I’m afraid, but I can’t wait to get to know him.”
He paused, his expression both pensive and endearingly tender. “You know, the whole time I was there talking to Herm and Louise and Christopher, all I could think about was telling you. I guess that’s what you do when you’re in love.”
“Oh, Marsh,” she whispered.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the day Jackie ran me over might have been the luckiest day of my life. Without it, I never would have let you into my life, never would have discovered just how much I needed you. And not just you. Will and Chloe and Sadie and Mrs. Finnegan, too.”