Captured at Nightfall (Capture My Heart Love Story) (36 page)

She was worried about how he was handling this all himself. She’d noticed when he wasn’t trying to dam up the well of tears, or take care of her in some other way, he’d been lost in his own thoughts.

Maybe this was getting to be too much for him?

Allie had no idea what to do about it, though. She was too much of a mess trying to hold herself together to try and fix anything else. It was a selfish admission that left her feeling weak.

But now, in bed with him
and looking up into his face, all she saw was a love that shined down over all that she was—the good parts, and the bad.

“I’m good,
Matthew. I’ll be okay.”

Nodding slowly, his lips pursed.

When he didn’t move, and his brow stayed furrowed, she kissed her finger and pressed it against the pinched skin between his eyes. “What is it?” she asked through hushed lips.

His gaze dropped to her face, pulled out of his thoughts to drown her in wide pools of liquid emerald. “I’ve been thinking. . .”

Uh, oh,
she was automatically tempted to tease.
Thinking.
She resisted, pressed her upward curving lips into a straight line and asked, “What about?”

He darted away from her face in a very un-
Matthew manner. He was usually so direct—unnervingly so—a predator contemplating its prey. She’d gotten used to it a while ago; but this, his gaze averted and on the bed beside her shoulder, had unease sliding through her belly.

L
ips compressed. “Yeah, well . . . I’ve been thinking I should call my parents. Ask them to come down to see us.”

“Us,” she repeated stupidly.
Oh
.

Holy crap; oh!

“And,” he went on, leaving Allie’s wheels burning up as they tried to keep pace, “I know this is going to be a hard day for you . . . Don’t want to add to the stress, but—”

Allie
’s eyebrows arched.
But
?

“—Truth is
, I called them yesterday while you were down with your mom.”

Allie
blinked as her mouth dropped to her chest. He’d contacted his parents.

Oh,
my gosh.
This was a
huge
deal.

He
scrutinized her face for any flinch of eye or curve of lips that could give her thoughts away. Finally, he said, “I told them about you. About us. And about what happened to your mom. They, uh, want to meet you. And”— he paused —“they’d like to come to the funeral. If you feel it’s okay, that is.”

Meet the family?
And possibly bring about the chance for Matthew to finally reunite with his mom and dad after almost a year of him having vanished from their lives?

She snaked her fingers through his hair and pulled him down to her. Only millimeters from his mouth and those wickedly tempting lips, she breathed, “Of course,
Matthew. I’d love to have them come.” She connected the kiss, fully and leisurely, enjoying the softness of his touch and the heat he called from deep inside her. Her hands curled down over his heavy, scarred shoulder blades, felt muscle and bone slide beneath his skin.

Before she could get too carried away, he pulled back. “You’re sure you’re okay with it?”

She felt her eyes soften and tried to show him how much it meant that he’d want them there today.

“Yes,
Matthew.”

“They’re in the air right now. Get into Sky Harbor at about nine-thirty this morning.”

Allie rolled over to look at the digital display on Matthew’s alarm clock. It was seven-fifteen.

“Do you need to pick them up?” she asked.

“No. They said they’d be cool renting a car.” Matthew rolled onto his side. “Didn’t want to leave you alone,” he added a little gruffly.

Allie
stared up at the bedroom ceiling and watched the way pink and gold rays of morning light turned the white paint rosy.

“
Matthew?”

“Hmmm?”
He sounded like she’d caught him half-way between sleep and wakefulness.

“Why’d you call them?”

A stretch of quiet followed, and when he spoke, his voice was filled with gravel. “Week’s been hard for you.” When she looked over at him his expression was filled with melancholy. “Made me think about a lot of stuff. About my own life, you know.” His brows pinched together hard. “Even though your mom suffered from Alzheimer’s, there was still no doubt you loved her. If there was an opportunity to tell her, you’d taken it. She died knowing her kid cared about her.”

Allie
’s throat filled with emotion while Matthew rolled onto his back and propped his hand behind his head. “My folks don’t know that. And . . . life’s fragile. It can be taken away at any time.” His head turned toward her and his forehead crumpled. “Guess I figure it’s time I pulled my head outta my ass and let them know the same. You know, before it’s too late.”

“Oh,
Matthew.” Allie’s hand settled gently over his unshaven cheek.

He gathered her fingers together and then kissed each of their tips. “I love you, baby. You know that, right?” His words were solemn.
An oath.

She nodded, overwhelmed by the twists and turns such an early morning conversation as theirs had taken. “Yes. I know,” she whispered. “I love you, too. More than I ever dreamed I’d be able to ever love another soul.”

“Thank you.” His forehead nestled into the soft part between her shoulder and her chest. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Allie chuckled softly. “All the sex?” Her fingers threaded between the tendrils of his copper hair. “Anytime.”

When his head pulled back so he was looking at her again, his eyes were dark. In the early morning light, the sun’s rays brushed golden highlights over his hair and emphasized each ridge of scarring over his magnificent body.

Her blooded warrior.

Oh
, how she loved him.

“No, baby.”
A large rough hand cupped the side of her cheek gently. “For you. For choosing me. For what you’ve given me.” His eyebrows lowered. “Hope,” he finished simply.

Tears pricked her eyes and she did nothing to staunch their flow while they freely rolled down both her cheeks. He curled around her, his massive body wrapping her in a protective cocoon. Silence cradled them both, their souls seeming to communicate what words would only cheapen.

Allie breathed in his warm skin. And she knew that she was his.

“
Allie?” he whispered.

“What,
Matthew?”

“These last few days”—he paused
—“having you here.”

“Yeah?”
Her voice was strung tight with nervous tension.

“It’s been . . . nice”— he cringed
—“well, more than nice, okay,” a dark, velvety chuckle trilled over her.
Was he nervous?
“More like fantastic,” he amended at last and dropped a brief kiss on her lips. “You know I’m a mess, but, ah . . . it’s been better having you around. And, I know I go out of town a lot, but, I thought, maybe we should keep this whole sleeping arrangement long term. You should move in.”

She was struck speechless.

When she just blinked up at him a rough hand jerked his hair away from his forehead. “
Damn it
, this was not the right time to bring this up. I mean,
shit
, with your mom’s, ah . . . well, this was a bad day—”

She cut him off, “Yes,
Matthew. I’ll move in with you.” She couldn’t believe it! The tears were back again. “Of course, yes. I love you so much. Yes. Absolutely.”

A mega-watt smile crept out onto his face for just a moment. Just long enough to give
Allie a glimpse of the Matthew who’d lived before he’d gone through hell and back. She’d do
anything
to have that smile a part of him more often, to become as natural as getting up in the morning. She knew he’d seen too much and done too much to ever be considered lighthearted maybe, but she’d do her best to make these moments become more and more common for him.

“
Allie?”

She jumped, brought back to the present where she stood to the side of her mom’s coffin in the small funeral parlor.
Matthew’s hand gripped her shoulder. He eyed her warily, assessing the redness of her eyes and nose for any sign of impending tears. “People are starting to get here. Heard them drive up. You’re going to be alright?”

She nodded again and pulled her shoulders back a little. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

***

The next two hours passed in a kind of haze.
Allie spent the time hugging, comforting the other grievers, listening to them rehash stories of her mom, and ensuring everyone there that,
yes
, she was doing alright. Matthew standing silently beside her was a relief. His scary demeanor kept condolences short and embraces brief.

Everyone, it seemed, had shown up.
Lainie, Jason, Jennifer, and the rest of the crew. Old neighbors and school teachers. Friends and family Allie hadn’t seen for years, and some cousins she’d never even met. Even one of Allie’s professors had come, just to offer their sympathy. She’d been touched, but not surprised to see that Adam’s dad, Roy, had flown all the way down from California.

The whole time, though,
Allie kept an eye out for Matthew’s family.

When would she see them; and would she recognize them as
Matthew’s?

Once the viewing drew to a close they drove to the local cemetery for a small, graveside service.

When it was all over Allie just stood there, rooted to the new, budding summer grass, looking over Mary’s glossy, cherry wood casket and the mound of flowers that heaped up on its lid, not really seeing any of it. Her mom’s final words gave her a peace inside that she was now heading down the right path for her life.

Matthew
stiffened next to her. “Excuse me, baby, for just a minute.”

She followed his gaze to a
copse of trees. A tall, grey-haired man, who could have been an aged replica to the pictures Allie had seen of Jayce, stood beside a curvy woman with a flame of dark red hair that curled up off her shoulders, and a statuesque blonde sporting the kind of figure you’d only see inside the high-gloss pages of a fashion magazine.

Matthew
’s family.

She watched
Matthew walk toward them, his shoulders a tight bunch beneath his suit jacket.

When she started to foll
ow, a set of dark fingers curled lightly around her elbow made her stop.

“He loves you a lot, huh,
Allie?”

She
looked up into Adam’s face and blinked with surprise. “Excuse me?”

Adam
turned, his gaze following after Matthew. “Your boy.” Adam’s chin jerked toward him. “Pretty obvious.” When he looked back at her he shook his head while a sad little smile plucked up the corner of his mouth. “You done good, Allie. He treats you well. I can see that now.”

Allie
felt her heart warm. “Oh, Adam.” She wrapped an arm around his waist. This must be a hard thing for him to say. “I know.” She turned wide eyes on him. “I love him, too.”

Adam
dropped her gaze while scrubbing his hand over the back of his head. “Yeah. I know.” He swallowed. “You deserve to have some happiness.”

She pulled him in for a hug, her arms wrapping around his waist. “Thanks,
Adam.”

He
dropped his chin to her shoulder. “You gonna be okay?”

Her gaze went back to
Matthew. “Yeah . . . I am.” And she knew she would be, too. This last week had been hell. A shock that tore through everything she’d known and lived for so long. Her mom was gone now and that was the final piece to have fallen. But truthfully, the life she’d had before had ceased months before—back when she’d met Matthew.

Today her heart was breaking. But through the remains of her tattered life were the starts of a new beginning. And as a seed breaks through the earth to rise and meet the sun, so too would love, nourished with hope and tending, spring up from the pieces of her broken heart.

Adam said goodbye and walked back to where his dad sat in one of the graveside folding chairs, while Allie walked toward that small grouping of trees.

When she got closer, her feet froze
her in place and she fidgeted with her dress. She didn’t want to intrude. Felt like an interloper just watching their reunion from this far away.

Matthew
stood, tall as his father, and went to shake his hand. When his dad pulled him in for a hard embrace, she watched Matthew’s proud shoulders start to shake. His mom was there, and his sister, too, their arms curling around the son and brother who’d been lost to them for so long. His family, at last was reunited.

The wind was soft outside and
brought the smell of roses and carnations on its tendrils. Matthew was once again where he needed to be. Home, surrounded by those who loved him, his heart opened at last to the long path of recovery.