He cupped her chin in his hand. “I’m glad that someone is you. Tell me something: When did you realize passion and love were good things?”
“It’s silly, really. The night you left and we didn’t make love. It just took me a long time to understand what you’d taught me.”
He nibbled on her lower lip. “I’m glad it worked, because it was hell being with you, so close to losing you and walking away without...” He trailed off.
“I understand. When Peter said you were in the hospital and I didn’t know what was wrong... I thought I’d lost you without ever having had the chance to tell you that I love you.”
“You can’t get rid of me that easily. I’m like a bad penny.”
She brushed a kiss over his lips. “As long as you keep turning up, my life is complete.” Carly paused. “The question is, is yours? I don’t want to wake up one day to find you resent me, that you gave up your career because you thought it was what I wanted... the kind of life Peter would have given me.”
He shook his head. “Look at those pictures. You wouldn’t have been happy with Peter’s kind of staid life. As for me, I lost my parents, remember? Do you really think I’d want my kids to suffer the same fate?”
She blinked and tears rippled down her cheeks. “Kids,” she said softly.
“And a dog, and a white picket fence if you want one.” He brushed a lone tear aside with his thumb. “I’m through running, sweetheart.”
She held her arms open wide. “Unless it’s toward me.
EPILOGUE
“Life doesn’t come with any guarantees. You just put your best foot... I mean paw forward and hope for the best.” Mike knelt down and patted the head of the mutt he’d recently rescued from the ASPCA. He’d been covering a story for the local paper about animals that had survived a fire that had taken the lives of their owners.
Surprisingly, he enjoyed the lighter pieces as much as he enjoyed covering harder news. He appreciated the opportunity to do both. But he hadn’t expected to get earmarked as a sucker by the first pooch he laid eyes on. He’d been a goner from the minute he’d taken a look at those big brown eyes.
“So there’s the paper. Think you can remember that?” Mike asked.
The dog thumped its black tail enthusiastically against the wood floor.
“Good. Now let’s hope Carly likes surprises,” he said.
He’d left a message for her to meet him here with good news. Mutt, as he’d come to call him, had accompanied him on his daily run and his easier assignments. So here they were.
Despite the peace and quiet, or perhaps because of it, Mike knew he’d made the right decision. He glanced around at the rambling house that needed as much time and love as this pathetic new pet. He’d have time for both these days. The wandering and danger didn’t suit him anymore. The restlessness had begun long before he’d gotten injured on assignment. He just hadn’t known the longing was for permanent roots. Who’d have guessed?
Not Carly. She still seemed to be in a daze, as if happiness and security couldn’t possibly go hand in hand. As if she was looking for it all to fall apart at any moment.
Mike refilled the mutt’s water bowl and placed it on the floor. He understood the source of her fear. Time... and this surprise would prove that they shared something lasting.
The doorbell took him out of his musings and he was grateful for the interruption. The dog didn’t react, but then he still hadn’t learned to associate the doorbell with human company. Mike headed for the door but didn’t miss seeing the dog walk up to the paper and use the floor anyway. He groaned and turned the doorknob, wondering who would ultimately win this battle, him or the pooch.
“Hi.”
“Carly.”
She smiled, radiating a glow in her cheeks he hadn’t seen since... well, never. Talk about progress, he thought.
“Come in,” he said.
Carly followed him inside and down a short hall. She’d taken two steps inside the living room when Mike barked out the command. “Stop.” She did and looked down, grateful she hadn’t gone a step farther. Meeting his gaze, she burst out laughing and stepped around the mess, the paper, but not the dog. How could she, when he insisted on nuzzling her leg with his nose?
She knelt down to give him the attention he craved. “He’s cute,” she said, tilting her head upward. “And so are you.”
He frowned at her description. He’d shaved off the beard weeks ago, but he was still the rebel in attitude and look. He still favored worn jeans that hugged his lean hips and muscled thighs and a black T-shirt that accentuated his biceps.
He was still the man she loved beyond reason. The man she’d marry in a few weeks, in a private, family-only ceremony.
Tearing her gaze from him, she asked, “Okay, what’s up? What is this place?” she asked, gesturing around the rambling farmhouse.
He let out a deep breath. “This... is home.” He grabbed her hand and led her outside, down a small path to the edge of the property. He patted a peeling post. “And this is your white picket fence.”
A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. “And this is my dog?”
He grinned. “It’s the American dream, sweetheart. The house, the dog, the white picket fence... ”
“What about the two-point-five kids?” she asked, her eyes dancing with delight.
He leaned forward for a brief but satisfying kiss. “I was hoping one was on its way,” he said in a voice he barely recognized.
“If not, I’m sure we can work on it.”
Her light, tinkling laughter warmed him. To Mike, it was the sound of promise, of his future. He splayed his hand over her flat stomach. Her hand covered his and the dog nudged at her leg. She laughed again. He wanted to grow old listening to that sound, and he would.
“I like your thinking, and that might take care of one of those kids... but I had something else in mind.” She was teasing him and he knew it.
“And here I thought I had all the surprises for today.”
She waved papers in front of him. “I did some research, and there’s an adoption agency placing orphans from war-ravaged countries. Now I know it’s a big responsibility, and I know many of these kids come with problems, but we can handle it. I mean, if you want to.”
Did he want to? Give a home to kids who’d lost parents as he had? Only this time, these kids would know love and happiness... and security... Mike glanced back at the old house, and the woman with whom he would make this place a home. He didn’t know what he’d done in this life to get so lucky, but he intended to enjoy it.