Could she do it? Kenna wasn't sure she could let go of the past that easily. He'd betrayed her trust.
"But I'm scared," she said, finally admitting it not only to Estelle but to herself. "I'm terrified to give myself to him again. I wouldn't survive a second time if he leaves."
Estelle's expression softened. "He took the first step. He's tryin' to find your momma's ring, ain't he?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"And he told you he loved you."
"Yeah, but-"
"But nothin'. Ain't no man in the world gonna waste his time at a beautiful resort like this to chase down some old ring and brooch if he doesn't want you back."
But forever? He'd said they would only last for this week. They'd agreed.
Did he want more?
She did. But she couldn't dare allow herself to believe it could happen. She wasn't kidding when she said she wouldn't survive. It would destroy her.
"Tyke ain't the best at expressin' his feelings," Estelle said. "Go to him. Tell him how you feel. I'm bettin' it'll make it easier for him to open up, too."
What if he didn't want her? "But-"
"Then you'll know once and for all," Estelle said, answering the thought. "It's always better to know rather than wonder."
True. Kenna had spent enough time wondering if Bryan would ever come back to her. It was time to know for sure.
When Kenna opened the door and entered the room she shared with Bear, she found him sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at his clasped hands. He didn't look up when she entered, which immediately made her heart leap into her throat.
Hesitantly, Kenna went in, letting the door slam behind her.
"Hey." Kenna stopped in front of him and glanced around, uncomfortable. He was docile. Quiet. She wasn't used to that side of him. She was accustomed to gruff, mouthy Bryan, who stomped around the room in his boots and said whatever he wanted. "I was, uh, down on the beach with Estelle."
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Did you have fun?"
She swallowed past her dry throat. "Yeah. She and I haven't had a chance to really talk this week, so it was nice catching up with her."
"Good," he said. "That's real good."
"Did you, um, have a good morning?"
"Yeah, it was good. Got breakfast with Reese and Megan."
"I'm glad you had a nice time."
"Me, too," he said, looking up at her.
God, this was painful. Tiptoeing around each other like a bunch of inexperienced kids.
A silent moment stretched out between them. She swayed from one foot to the other, debating how to tell him that she heard him say "I love you" last night and that she loved him, too.
He started. "Kenna, look, I'm sorry. I know you're pissed at me. You have every right to be. But I want you to know why."
"Wait," she said, recalling everything Aunt Estelle had told her. The past couldn't be changed, but the future could. If she forgave Bear and made use of the time they still had left together. "I want to be honest with you, too. I want you to know that I heard you last night. When you came in after dinner." She waited to see whether something in his expression suggested he knew what she was referring to. When his face showed recollection, she said, "Did you mean it? What you said?"
His eyes warmed. "Yeah, I meant it."
Her heart immediately started to thaw. That ice fortress she'd built and kept erect for so long started to crumble as her chest filled with hope. "I want to hear it again," she said. "I want you to tell me again, since you're not drunk, and I'm fully awake."
He hesitated, looking a little unsure. But after a second, he stood and reached for her hand. "Kenna, I love you. I've loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you. I've never stopped."
She let the meaning of those words sink in. She let them infuse her body with the warmth she'd been missing for the last twelve years. The feeling of utter contentment. She was complete. Whole. "I love you, too," she said. "I was stupid to think I didn't."
His expression faltered a little, and he dropped her hand. "Don't say that."
"Say what?" she asked. "That I love you? Why? I do, Bryan. I love you so much. I never stopped loving you."
"You don't. You can't."
"I can. And I do," she said, frustration rising. Her next words were agitated. "What's the matter with you? Why are you backing up?"
He cradled his head in his hands as he dropped back onto the bed. "Kenna, you don't understand."
She sat next to him. "Then help me understand."
He looked at her so tormented that she had to remind herself to calm down. It could be anything. She didn't want to jump to conclusions that it was something bad.
He let out a ragged breath. "Once I tell you, you'll see. But you won't love me anymore. You won't be able to."
That seemed impossible to believe.
Kenna placed a hand on his knee, and he jerked under her touch. She pulled her hand back and clasped it with the other in her lap. "I'll decide how I feel," she said.
Springing from his seat, he whirled to face her. "When I was in the Army, they sent me to Iraq."
She nodded, already knowing that. For the first few months he'd been there, he'd sent letters and emails telling her about what the towns looked like. The people. What the war was like. She remembered not really caring about any of that except the fact that he was okay. Still alive.
"My convoy was on a scouting mission," he went on, "and we got ambushed."
She definitely hadn't heard about that. "What happened?" She tried to prepare herself, though she didn't know for what.
"I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. It was bad." He ran a hand over his smooth crown. "Out of the four of us, two of my guys … " He swallowed. "Two of them didn't make it."
She gasped.
He paused to exhale what was surely a horrid memory. "When I made it back to Medical, I didn't remember a lot. But I did remember one thing. I'd been shot."
"Shot?" she all but shouted. "How? Where?" Her frantic gaze searched his body top to bottom.
"It was-"
There was a firm string of knocks on their door.
Bryan got up and approached the sound. "Who is it?"
"Officers Baxter and Hernandez."
He looked back at Kenna with an expression that jolted through her. They'd caught him. They'd caught Clint Azure. Thank God.
Kenna was on her feet in an instant.
Opening the door, Bryan gestured for the officers to enter. They stood in the doorway, Officer Hernandez, based on the gold nameplate over his heart, propped one black boot against the door to keep it open.
Their gazes slid to Kenna and back to Bryan, a silent question in their expressions.
"It's okay," Bryan said. "She'll want to hear this, too."
Officer Baxter readjusted his weight and gave Bear another look. One she couldn't decipher at first.
In that split second, Kenna noticed a few things. First, her heart started beating at a rate that was loud enough for all in the room to hear. Second, the officers didn't look relieved or proud of the news they brought. And third, Bryan's posture suddenly wilted.
No.
Then Officer Baxter said three words she wasn't ready to hear. "It's not him."
Him?
She threw a look at Bryan. Surely they couldn't be talking about Clint.
Bear's gaze skated in her direction, touching her for a ghost of a second before he focused back on the officers. "You're sure?"
One simple drop of Officer Hernandez's chin.
"Why did he run then?" she jumped in. "Innocent men don't run."
The two officers didn't respond to her question. Instead, Officer Hernandez kept his attention on Bear. "We caught up with him in Galveston. He sang like a canary about the drugs. But when we asked him about the thefts, he didn't know what we were talking about."
"And you believed him?" Kenna asked, her voice raising an octave.
Bear made a sound, telling her to calm down.
How could he be so stoic? The officers had just implied that Clint wasn't their thief! Damn it, she and Bear should've insisted on being there while the police questioned Clint. More eyes were always better than fewer.
"I want to talk with him," she said, knowing she didn't have to clarify to whom she was referring.
Both officers glanced at Bear, seeming to question her importance. The air in the room grew thick with annoyance after she doubted the men's abilities to do their jobs.
When Officer Baxter spoke, his words were tight. "Sorry, ma'am, the only thing Clint Azure is guilty of is getting a bunch of rowdy tourists high."
They exchanged a few more bits of information, nothing at all as confounding or aggravating as their initial piece. Then Bear held out a hand, shaking each officer's hand in turn, and thanked both men for their time. They turned toward the door, offering to provide anything else they found.