Firefly Run (24 page)

Reed couldn’t think of an appropriate response, so the silence hung suspended for several seconds until Sean stood. As if sensing Reed needed time alone to try to sort out his next move, Sean announced he was going in to get a nice big glass of lemonade for his parched throat.

Reed wondered what would wash the cotton out of his own. He felt as if he was standing in front of Shelly and she’d demanded he quantify his feelings. He loved her, yes, but was it enough to just say that? Why did falling in love have to be so scary and confusing?

When Shelly exited yet another cabin, he found himself striding across the clearing toward her. She entered the last cabin in the row without noticing him. He stepped in behind her, causing her to turn at the sound of his feet on the floor. The wide-eyed look of alarm on her face made him want to kick himself for not thinking.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you."

She waved off the apology, obviously embarrassed by her reaction. "It’s okay. I guess I’m still jumpy. I think a dust bunny would scare the wits out of me right now."

He stepped forward and wrapped his good arm around her. Damn, she felt good, all warm and curvy female flesh with that distinctive flowery scent he’d come to think of as hers. He’d been unable to hold her in his arms for only a few days, and he already felt like a starving man with a full plate just out of reach. After two years of having no one, his body yearned to keep her in bed for hours at a time. But with her family still there, intimacy of that kind wasn’t appropriate.

"How about you give me that tour of Cades Cove you promised me?"

"Now?"

"Why not? Quite frankly, I’m sick to death of sitting around doing nothing."

"You just got out of the hospital with a gunshot wound."

"I’m aware of that. But I’m not an invalid. I need to move."

"But...but I’m busy."

"There are three other people here who can take care of anything that comes up in the next few hours. You deserve an afternoon off."

She opened her mouth as if to make another excuse, then closed it. "Okay. That actually sounds nice."

Once they passed the Y in the road where they’d begun their float trip with Marianne, he was in new territory. But despite the rolling green slopes and patches of colorful wildflowers, he found his gaze repeatedly turning in Shelly’s direction. He kept wondering if he should tell her he loved her and how one went about saying such an important thing. He couldn’t just blurt it out. It seemed to call for a special occasion, but damned if he could think of one.

Though she seemed a tad reserved, maybe even nervous at first, Shelly soon succumbed to the lure of telling him anything and everything about the Cove.

"You should see it here in the fall," she said. "It’s like the mountains are on fire, all deep red and gold. Unfortunately, this loop is clogged with cars, bumper to bumper. It’s hard to look at the leaves when you’re trying not to rear-end the car in front of you."

When they reached a reconstructed farm, she continued chattering as she led him from mill to house to barn.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked when she turned back to him to see if he was absorbing her history lesson.

"You."

"And you find me amusing?"

He grabbed her hand and lifted it to his mouth. Her face softened when he kissed her warm flesh. "I’m not laughing at you," he said. "I just like watching you when you get going like this."

"Like what?"

"Like there’s not enough time to share all the knowledge you’ve soaked up over the years." He pulled her more fully to him and kissed her on the forehead, heedless of the other tourists milling about.

Reed kept her hand clasped in his as they finished touring the community area and the visitor center. He didn’t even protest when she bought a fake coonskin cap obviously meant for a child and forced him to wear it.

Leaving the growing crowd behind, they continued on their way around the scenic loop until Shelly pulled off the road next to an open valley.

"Come on," she said as she tugged on his hand.

"Where are we going?"

"You’ll see."

She led him down an old dirt road that flanked the valley until they came to a natural area for sitting and enjoying the view. Shelly sank onto the grass, then gently tugged him down beside her. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

"I love it here," she said, scanning the valley and the ring of rolling green mountains around it. "Look."

She pointed across the valley, directing his attention to three deer munching on grass as if humans were nowhere nearby.

"They know they’re safe here," she said, obviously proud that there were still places where wildlife could live without fear. "They might be common, but I still think they’re beautiful."

The awe she felt when she gazed out across the landscape must be similar to what he felt when he looked at her, like he was the luckiest man in the world just to be sitting next to her.

"I think you’re beautiful," he said.

She looked at him, hopeful and yet holding back. He desperately wished he could read her mind just long enough to figure out what she really wanted from him because he had no doubt he’d give it to her without question. But not knowing the scope of her affection for him made him hesitant to make any

hasty confessions.

No matter if their relationship lasted days, weeks or years, he couldn’t keep his hands off her any longer. He slid closer and cupped her face. "I’ve missed you." His lips descended toward hers.

The kiss took on a life of its own until Reed had to pull away or risk making love to her in broad daylight on a path frequented by vacationing families. She clung to him, rubbing her hands up and down his back.

"I’ve missed you, too. I didn’t realize how lonely I’d been until I couldn’t be with you anymore."

Lonely. Is that the only reason she wanted to sleep with him?

"Don’t start assuming things," she said, as if she’d read his thought. "You’re almost assured of getting it wrong."

"Then tell me what I should be thinking."

She leaned back but didn’t release him. "We’ve probably been wondering what the other one is thinking ever since we made love the first time. I don’t know if you want to tell me your half, but I’ll tell you. I haven’t felt so wonderful in a long time. I can’t even work ten minutes without thinking about you, without wanting you. Without wanting to kill Eddie all over again for hurting you."

Reed swallowed hard, stunned by her confession.

"I don’t know where we’re going, but I’m satisfied to take it one day at a time," she continued. "I want to hold you, make love to you, laugh with you, and I don’t care what anybody thinks."

"Not even your brother?"

"Nope."

He smiled. "Not even the fine gossiping folks of Bobcat Ridge?"

"Not even if they put it on the town billboard."

He kissed her again, deeper and hungrier this time. All his muscles clenched at the restraint he exercised not to lay her back in the soft bed of grass and make love to her beneath the wide, blue sky.

The sound of childish laughter caused them to jerk apart, gasping for air. They glanced down the roadway, but thankfully they had time to compose themselves before a young family came into view. Reed’s face flamed at his aroused state, and he positioned himself so the passersby wouldn’t notice.

He and Shelly said hello as the couple and their youngsters walked by. When he returned his gaze to Shelly, they both burst out laughing.

"Oh, Lord, I thought those kids were laughing at us." She held her side as she flopped onto her back.

He leaned down beside her. "Are you saying my kisses are amusing?"

"To a five-year-old, yes." Her eyes shone bright, causing his heart to somersault.

"What about to you?"

She reached up to glide her fingers across his cheek. "Amusing isn’t how I’d describe your kisses, Detective Tanner."

He leaned closer, nipping her lips with his teeth. "Then how would you describe them?"

"Heart-stopping."

He knew the feeling.

****

Reed had almost told her he loved her as they’d sat in that meadow earlier in the day, but one thing still stood in the way.

Five minutes hadn’t passed following her family’s departure before they were in bed, ravenous for each other. Her concern for his injury made him love her even more.

After she fell asleep, he slipped out of bed, pulled on his jeans and walked outside. Though full summer now, the mountain air still managed to cool the warm flesh of his back and chest. He raised his face to the sky and spoke to the best friend a man could ever have.

"I don’t know how you feel about this, but I love her. I didn’t come here for any other reason than to protect her, but it just happened. I think you probably know that." He paused, as if Troy might speak to him from his perch on one of the millions of stars blanketing the inky sky.

"She doesn’t think I have anything to feel guilty for, but you know how I think. Once I’ve latched onto something, it’s not easy to let it go. I’ve told you this before, but I want to say it again. I’m sorry I failed you."

Reed paused. How was he supposed to continue with what he’d planned? How did a man ask his best friend if it was okay to love his wife? And how mentally messed-up would a shrink tell him he was for having to ask in the first place. Well, those shrinks didn’t know how close he and Troy and been. Brothers couldn’t have been closer.

He sank down onto the edge of the porch and stared out into the darkness above the river. The fireflies must either be sleeping or had been blown away by the rainstorm that had swept through the night before.

"You know I’d never let anything happen to her. I’d take care of her, make her as happy as I could. We’ve both mourned you a long time. Shelly deserves to be happy, and she’s very good at convincing me I should be, too. But I can’t do it without your blessing."

He sat without speaking for several seconds, imagining Troy thinking it over. He needed some sort of sign, but would he be too blind to see it if it came?

As if in answer, Shelly’s synchronous fireflies lit up the night. Reed’s heart skipped a beat. He watched the darkness left in their wake when they turned off their inner bulbs, wondering if he’d imagined their appearance. They flashed again, more brilliant than before. He returned his gaze to the one star he’d been focusing on throughout his one-sided conversation.

"Thank you."

****

Shelly woke early, with daybreak barely tingeing the sky. She eyed the empty pillow beside her, then ran her hand over the indentation that proved Reed had slept with her, held her, made her feel safe and loved, though he’d not said the words.

Where was he? Was his arm hurting him and he couldn’t sleep? Had their lovemaking aggravated the injury? She slid from the bed and walked toward the living area.

But she found the outer room empty and panicked until she noticed the spot of color in the middle of the kitchen table. Her eyes watered, and she bit her lower lip as she moved closer. She ran a finger over the soft petals of the bluets shooting out of a water-filled glass.

Suddenly, she didn’t want Reed to see her in her rumpled current state with what must be a fabulous case of bedhead. She bolted for the shower. When she emerged wrapped in a towel, she found Reed sitting on the side of her bed.

"Do you feel better?" he asked.

She stared at him, so overcome with love the swelling of her heart made it difficult to breathe.

"Shelly?"

"What? Oh, yes, I feel better. Thanks."

He rose and took the few steps to her. He lifted one hand to her bare shoulder. Her skin warmed so much she feared it would melt.

"Something wrong?"

"No," she responded, a bit too breathy. She looked up to see him eyeing her with a deep, wary expression, as if he expected her to kick him out.

"Let’s go for a walk, watch the sun rise."

She liked the sound of that, so slipped into some clothes and let Reed lead her from the cabin and down the path along the ridge.

A happiness so incredible it was impossible to describe enveloped Shelly as they sank onto the log where they’d shared their first kiss. She gazed out at the thick greenery and the majestic trees. She looked over at Reed and thought—no, hoped—she saw the same admiration in his eyes. It was selfish of her, but she cradled a little hope that he could be happy here in this place that was as much a part of her as her family. That he would give up his dangerous job now that he knew he wasn’t invincible. When he turned to her and smiled, she pushed the uncertainties of the future away.

He pulled her next to him and cradled her as they watched the sun rise over the opposite ridge and filter through the leafy canopy of the trees. The sound of the river rose from below the cliff, even more soothing to her after so much upheaval in the past weeks.

"I was so worried that Eddie would have ruined this for me," she said. "For a while, I didn’t want to go anywhere near the woods. I kept imagining him jumping out from behind every tree." She turned to Reed and smiled. "But he didn’t ruin it. My love for all this is too strong. He wasn’t able to kill it."

Reed skimmed his fingers across her cheek. "I love you."

Her heart sang, and tears of joy pooled in her eyes.

A look of worry transformed Reed’s face. "I’m sorry. If you’re not ready, I—"

She stopped his unnecessary apology with a kiss filled with all the love that sprang to life within her. Then she whispered against his mouth. "I love you, too."

She laughed when she leaned back and saw the stunned expression on his face. "You look as if I just told you you’ve won the lottery."

He ran his hand up her jawline and into her hair. "I have." He dipped his mouth to hers, making her body burn with need.

They nearly tripped over each other getting back to the cabin and into bed. Reed’s clothes joined hers in a heap on the floor. They made fast, hot love, the kind that made Shelly blush if she thought about it.

Afterward, Reed cradled her against him. "I don’t know how this happened. When Eddie had you out there in the woods, I just realized I loved you. It surprised the hell out of me, and it scared me to death that I might not get to tell you. Then I went and passed out and couldn’t tell you. Then I didn’t know how to tell you. I swear, this is the most difficult thing I’ve ever tried to figure out."