Embracing Today, a firefighter romance: (The Trading Yesterday Series, #3) - Kahlen Aymes (old books to read .TXT) 📗

She started walking and I followed a few steps behind, enjoying watching her silhouette walk down the corridor between the two rows of stalls the moonlight framing her.

“I wouldn’t want to leave either, but I wouldn’t pay them a damn dime.” I couldn’t understand her reticence. “Why aren’t you angrier over what happened? They kidnapped you and who knows what else could have happened. Get a restraining order, at least.”

She shrugged and shoved her hands into the front pockets of her shorts as she waited for me to close the distance between us. We were outside now, and our shoes crunched on the gravel as we walked toward the house.

“Would that really stop them if they wanted to hurt me? If you could only have seen Apollo. He was menacing. I’m sure kidnapping is only the last offense on a very long rap sheet.”

I reached out and wrapped my fingers around her arm at the elbow, my goal to stop her and have her look at me while we spoke about it. “Right. You’re making my point. You’re vulnerable out here. Why are you willing to take the chance?”

“They can’t kidnap me. There is no one to pay the ransom,” she said a bit more flippantly than I could stomach.

“This isn’t a joke.”

Her slim shoulders lifted in a shrug. “What am I supposed to do, Ben? At least with the horses boarded here, there is some money coming in. Even if they show up, I already told them I didn’t have much cash. There is still a mortgage on the house because my uncle took out a loan to upgrade the fencing and make repairs to the barn.”

“Until you get the insurance money, Marin. Even if you hand over any allocated for Carter’s death, they may still demand more. Even if you lied to them about your situation before, they can figure out there will be other money for the rebuild coming in.”

“I don’t even know what kind of insurance my uncle kept on the place. There might not be anything at all.” She was getting annoyed. “You know, this really isn’t any of your business.”

I stopped short of the porch while she went up the steps. Anger exploded inside me. “The minute you texted me from that bathroom in the mall and brought me into it, you made it my goddamn business!” I wasn’t exactly yelling, but the timber and volume to my voice had changed enough to make her flinch and back away from me.

Instantly, I regretted my outburst. If she had suffered abuse at Carter’s hands, this would make her afraid of me. I put up my hands, spreading the fingers wide, consciously lowering my voice. “Look, I’m sorry, Marin. I didn’t mean to shout. I’m just worried about you.”

“No, you’re right. I shouldn’t have called you. I just… thought… I thought…” I could hear the tears and tremble to her voice. I felt like a total and utter asshole.

“You thought right. You were right to call me. I told you that I’d be here for you and I meant it. I just…”

I wanted desperately to move closer to her, to somehow make her understand. Instead, I turned away and locked my fingers on top of my head, unsure what to say next. After a few seconds I started speaking, but still keeping my back to her. “I don’t know what your situation with Carter was, and I’m not asking you to tell me about it right now, but my sister was beaten by her first husband and I’ve seen the yellow bruises and heard the excuses before. Maybe you loved the guy, but the thought of someone hurting you like that just makes me want to kill something.” I spoke softly, hoping it would put her at ease.

I turned, then, to see her still standing on the porch with her head down and her hands covering her face. She was sobbing, softly. I couldn’t help moving toward her, then. I wanted to comfort her, to pull her close and hold her while she cried it out.

“The last thing I want is for you to be afraid of me. I was out of line and it won’t happen again. I promise.”

I moved closer still and reached out to touch her shoulder. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me, Marin.”

Her head nodded but she cried harder. I wasn’t sure if I pulled her close or if she slid her arms around my waist but suddenly, Marin was wrapped in my arms with her head resting on my chest. I rubbed her back gently. “I’m sorry.” I pressed my lips to the top of her head. It felt so good to hold her. Her hair smelled of shampoo and she fit so perfectly inside the circle of my embrace. “I’ll leave if you want, but I’ll be worried.”

“Don’t leave.” The softly uttered words made me relax and hold her tighter. I felt her fingers curl into the material of shirt at the back of my waist. Nothing had ever felt so right. Maybe I hadn’t ruined our fragile friendship. At least, I prayed I hadn’t because I knew one thing; I wanted to be part of this woman’s life.

MARIN

After our embrace, Ben and I separated and entered the farmhouse.

I’d gone to my room upstairs and Ben stayed in the living room on the couch I’d made up for him. I showered and was wearing a clean pair of pajama shorts and T-shirt.

Having Ben in the house made me feel better, but my unease was due to something else altogether. His nearness, while comforting, was unnerving. How could I be feeling all of this pent-up desire and emotion when I should be pre-occupied with deciding what I wanted to do about the shop and the ranch, not to mention the terror over the past few days?

I’d been blind about Carter’s true nature in the beginning and the experience should make me more cautious.