Rescue Me

away, shooting at everything with one hand as he radioed for air support with the other. We were boxed in, with the Marines below us firing straight up at the Taliban. But there were so many of them. Hundreds. No way to fall back off that fucking mountain. Too many terrorists. Nothing to do but slam new magazines in the breech and hope to hell the airstrike happened in time to save our asses.”
    She felt an urge to place her hand on the side of his face and look into his eyes. But she didn’t. She loved him but she couldn’t touch him. “I’m glad you didn’t die that day.”
    He looked to his left again. “Pete took three bullets. One to his left leg and two to the chest. I didn’t get hit. At least not by Taliban bullets. The fighter-bombers and attack choppers screamed in and blasted the living hell out of the crevasses until all those Taliban fighters were obliterated. When the rescue helos finally rocketed in from the south, Pete was gone. I was deaf and puking my guts out, but I was alive.”
    Sadie held up one hand. “Wait. You were deaf?”
    “From the concussion of the airstrike.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. “I got it all back but about sixty percent in my left ear.”
    So that’s why he watched her talk sometimes. She’d thought he liked watching her lips.
    “I’ve never told anyone about Pete, but you saw me at my worst, I thought you should know that. I came out here today to tell you why I acted the way I did after you saw me pathetic and . . . Well, saw me in the corner of the hall.”
    He didn’t owe her an explanation. “You weren’t pathetic.”
    “A woman should feel safe around a man. Not find him shaking in a corner, yelling at shadows.”
    “I always felt safe around you. Even that night.”
    He shook his head. “A man should take care of a woman. Not the other way around. You saw me at my worst and I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry for a lot of things, especially that I just dropped you off that night. I was kind of hoping you could forget that whole night ever happened.”
    “Is that why you drove all the way out here?” He should know she didn’t gossip. Well, about anything other than Jane’s promiscuity. “I would never talk about it to anyone.” And as far as being dumped on her doorstep, she wasn’t likely to ever tell anyone about that, either.
    “I’m not worried about you telling anyone. And that isn’t the only reason I’m here. There’s more.”
    More? She didn’t know how much more she could take before she fell apart again. Like last night when she’d bawled all the way home. She was just grateful no one had seen her.
    “I’m sorry I made you cry last night.”
    Crap. It had been dark and a single tear had leaked out. She wished he hadn’t seen that. Wished she’d been able to suck it up better.
    “I don’t ever want to be the reason you cry again.”
    The only way that could happen was if he left and gave her time to heal her shattered heart. She took a step back and reached for the doorknob behind her. The backs of her eyes stung and if he didn’t hurry and leave, she was afraid he might see her cry again. “Is that all?”
    “There’s one more thing I came out here to tell you.”
    She lowered her gaze to the third button on his shirt. “What?” She didn’t know what there was possibly left to say. Just goodbye.
    He took a deep breath and let it out. “I love you.”
    Her gaze rose to his and a single “What?” whispered from her lips.
    “I’m thirty-six, and I’m in love for the first time. I don’t know what that says about me. Maybe that I’ve waited for you all my life.”
    Her mouth fell open and she sucked in a breath. She was feeling kind of light-headed, like she might pass out. “Vince. Did you just say you love me?”
    “Yes, and it scares the hell out of me.” He swallowed hard. “Please don’t say thank you.”
    She bit the side of her lip to keep from smiling or trembling or both.
    “Did you mean it when you said you love me?”
    She nodded. “I love you, Vince. I thought you’d be just a friend with benefits. Then you became a real friend and brought me Chee-tos and Diet Coke. I fell in love with you.”
    “Chee-tos?” He frowned. “That’s all it took?”
    No, there’d been a lot more. “You rescued me, Vince Haven.” She took a step toward him and tipped her head back to look up into his eyes. Whenever she’d needed him, he’d been there.
    “I’ll always rescue