Take Care, Sara

okay? You and Spencer? You talked and everything?”
    Lincoln snorted. “Guys, talking? Guys don’t talk , Sara. We ridicule each other, toss back a couple beers, sometimes even throw a few punches, and move on.”
    “So did you then? Move on?”
    “Yep,” he replied shortly.
    “Good.” She exhaled. “I’m glad.”
    Sara studied his gray eyes, searching for something. Lincoln shifted his jaw and looked over her head, not letting her see in his face what he didn’t want her to. “Did you come to say hello or did you come to say goodbye?” He nodded toward the hill where Cole’s headstone resided.
    “I don’t…” She frowned. “What do you mean?”
    Lincoln shook his head. “Nothing. You need a ride?”
    For the first time Sara noticed the Dodge truck alongside the road, parked haphazardly, as though he’d been in a hurry to park it. “Sure. I live on—“
    “I know where you live, Sara,” he interrupted darkly, turning and stalking to his vehicle.
    Sara followed, confused. It felt like her gut was shredded into millions of irreplaceable pieces. Like she was swallowing glass, or had had all the air stolen from her lungs. Even it was better than not being near him, not being able to gaze at his flawed perfection.
    The ride was tense, silent. She was only minutely surprised when he pulled the truck up to the right house. Lincoln’s body was wound tight, like a taut string. There was so much strength in that body, so much power. A tick in his jaw captured her attention and held it as she struggled for the right words to say. In the end, there were none.
    His voice was gravel when he said slowly, evenly, “Do you know…I wanted to tie you up so you couldn’t go? I seriously thought about it. Or I was going to kidnap you and lock you in my room until you saw reason. Only I figured Spencer might frown on that. Bad thing about having a cop for a friend,” he muttered.
    Sara inhaled sharply, knowing she should be disturbed by that declaration but found she was pleased instead.
    “And then the phone calls. God, those were torture. Sweet torture. I wanted to shout at you, plead with you, tell you how much I loved you. I wanted to get in my truck and go to Waupun and bring you home with me. I even thought about just going there and watching you; just to see you, just to know you were really okay. I have serious issues where you’re concerned.” Lincoln let his head thump against the steering wheel, his shoulders slumping.
    “I wanted to leave. I wanted to turn the car around before I even left Boscobel,” she quietly admitted. “But I had to go, Lincoln, otherwise I would have never known if I truly loved you or if you were just a crutch I leaned on in my time of need. I wouldn’t have known the depth of my feelings for you. I wouldn’t have been able to heal. I wouldn’t have known—“ she broke off, unable to continue.
    “ What? What wouldn’t you have known?” he demanded, still not looking at her.
    “Do you hate me, Lincoln?” Sara blurted, mentally kicking herself at how weak she sounded, like she would die if he did. A part of her would, she knew that much.
    His head swung around, his features twisted in incredulity. “ What? ”
    She played with the hem of her shorts, her leg warm against her hand. “Do you hate me?”
    “Of all the stupid— no , I don’t hate you. Some days I wish I did. It would make all of this a hell of a lot easier. You think I can just turn my feelings for you off and on, like a switch? You think a month is sufficient enough time to forget you, to move on, to get you out of my system?” Lincoln leaned across the console, locking her in place with his stormy eyes. “I will never get over you, Sara, never .”
    Sara trembled as she stared at him, seeing the fire in his eyes, seeing the truth of his words in the set of his face. She was going to shatter if she didn’t tell him. Sara couldn’t keep the secret inside her any longer. He had to know. Lincoln had to know how she felt about him.
    “I love you,” she whispered brokenly.
    He froze, his expression turning to granite. Lincoln slowly turned his gaze away to stare out the windshield. His jaw shifted as he inhaled deeply. “Do you mean that?” Lincoln asked roughly, eyes still trained straight ahead.
    Sara wordlessly nodded, and then realizing he wasn’t looking at her, she reached for him. Her hand grasped his hard bicep and squeezed, needing him closer. With a groan, Lincoln grabbed her