The Huntress (36 page)

Her smile was still there with an edge of blistering heat. “I’m a little tired. Should probably rest.” Her eyes told him that was a lie, running over him hungrily. “Why don’t you go tell our daughter the good news?”

His heart skipped a beat at her words, and he couldn’t keep a grin from spreading across his face. She was letting him stay, and she was calling Regan their daughter. Something that had been painfully tight for a very long time—possibly all his life—eased in his chest. He leaned forward and planted a hard kiss on her lips. Then, before he could convince himself that he should stay, he surged off the bed and headed for the door. At the threshold, he couldn’t resist a glance back at that heart-stopping smile, at the green temptation of her eyes. “Be back soon.”

Her smile turned wry, one slim eyebrow arching. “Well, you know what’ll happen if you don’t.”

“You can chase me down after you get better, Hunter. Matter of fact, I’m lookin’ forward to it.”

Her throaty laughter slid over his skin like flame as he stepped out the door.

He found Regan pacing the corridor, biting her thumbnail. When she saw him, she hurried over, features taut and worried until she saw his grin. Then joy bloomed on her face and warmed him like a sun.

“You’re staying!” she shrieked and flung herself at him.

He scooped her up against his chest and held her tight. “I’m staying,” he repeated, more for himself than her.

His world was expanding at an incredible rate, the possibilities unfolding before him like the path to heaven. He wasn’t going to just survive anymore—with Mea and Regan at his side, he would finally
live.
Accepting and adjusting to this gift would take some time, some effort. Did he deserve happiness after all he’d done? A murdering hard-case convict, broken and barely human?
I don’t know if I deserve it,
he thought with a stubborn clenching of his jaw,
but I’m not letting it go.

Cradling his little girl against his chest, he realized she was crying softly into his neck and smiled. Was this love? It didn’t matter. He knew what else it was and to him that was more important. It was—finally—freedom.

If you enjoyed this novel, be sure to join this charismatic and eclectic family for further adventures in their series of short stories,
Stepping Stones
, now available at the Kindle Store along with several other titles by Michelle O'Leary. More about the author and her work can also be found on her website,
Fertile Ground.
(michelle-oleary.com)