Guardian (26 page)

Anger radiated off David. “You started an affair with my sister while you were in the middle of a trial that could send you to jail for two years. That in and of itself isn’t all that cool in my book. But what I really want to know is why the hell you didn’t tell me. Were you hiding
something? Because God help you if you were using my sister to get some kind of inside track on any additional information I have on the crash investigation.” “Wow, Major,” Caleb said dryly, “nice to know you’ve been blowing smoke about believing in my innocence. But then I should have guessed as much if you’ve been spending time with the lawyer determined to send me away for two years.”

Suspicion snapped in David’s eyes. “Do you have another reason for being here?”

“You insult Madison by even hinting at something like that.” Mouth tight, he turned to her. “Do you believe that, too? That I’m here to somehow sway the case or find out information?”

She hesitated for a second too long.

“Shit,” Caleb hissed. “I’m an idiot for thinking you actually wanted
me
. I should have known better when you refused to tell anyone. Consider your embarrassing, inconvenient affair over.”

Sadness and betrayal twisted inside her, along with a sense of inevitability. She’d known there was no way their affair could last. She just hadn’t expected it to hurt this much.

Turning away, Caleb left through the kitchen, like he knew the way through her house. Which he did. He paused, though, at her refrigerator. His face paled as he touched the edge of the picture held up by a magnet. That sad photo drawn by the boy who’d been hurt. Sophie had put it there as a reminder, saying she’d promised the boy she would.

And that she’d promised his parents justice.

Caleb slammed the door on his way out.

Madison winced. Her brother cupped her shoulders and she flinched again.

“Surprise, surprise,” she said, “I’ve made a mess of things again. I’m sorry if I’ve compromised the case in any way by letting him in here when Sophie’s notes were lying around.” Tears burned her eyes. Over hurting her brother, right? Not because Caleb had just walked out of her life. “I’m sorry for not saying something sooner.”

He hauled her to his chest. “You tried to talk to me, and I didn’t listen. I owe you the apology.”

How like David to shoulder the blame for everything. She angled back, thumbing away her tears. “I didn’t try very hard, and I’m so sorry about that, too. You’re the only person I haven’t alienated. We sure don’t have much of a track record in relationships, do we?”

“Apparently not.” His wry smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“No, but I will be.” She patted his face. “I really would just like to be alone. Go back to Sophie, baby brother. It would give me hope if one of us could figure out how to make a relationship work.”

He didn’t move at first, studying her with those intense eyes until finally he must have realized there really wasn’t anything he could do for her. Nobody could. Her brother walked away, pausing by the refrigerator. He took the picture from under the magnet. “Be sure to arm the security system.”

And he was gone.

Her big, beautiful house echoed around her, empty, secured, like a damn fortress. Too bad they didn’t issue that kind of protection for the heart.

*    *    *

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Sophie stirred her melting pistachio ice cream. She stuck the spoon in her mouth
and sucked it clean while flipping a page in the file resting on the coffee table.

Her eyes focused on the names and numbers detailed as she fidgeted against the itchy carpet irritating her legs. Of course the carpet was the cause, not the man she longed to wrap herself around for hours on end.

David sat on the edge of the sofa, a hand’s reach in front of her and too enticing in just cargo shorts and a T-shirt. Resting his elbows on his knees, he cradled his bowl in one hand. He jabbed at his chocolate mocha swirl. The picture Ricky had drawn lay on the coffee table where David had placed it when he’d come back from checking on his sister. He’d seemed pensive, but when she’d asked him if something was wrong, he just shook his head. He’d said he needed to think through some things.

Guilt still stabbed her over the way she’d handled his impromptu proposal. They were both walking on eggshells now. She missed the way they’d been before—open, at ease.

She popped the spoon free and concentrated on the maintenance records of the AC-130, instead of on the muscular calves a stroke away. Sophie shuffled her papers—printouts, test data, and government contracts—unveiling David’s bare feet visible through the glass tabletop.

Mesmerized, she watched him scratch his toes over the top of one foot. Why did that seem so intimate?

She shook off the sentimental notion and traced along the edge of Ricky’s drawing. “I wish we could call Brice and Haley Rose again, but they’ve got to be asleep by now.”

“You spoke with them three times today.”

“I’d call again. I won’t apologize for worrying.”

David propped his feet on the edge of the table. “You’re a good mother.”

“I had a great role model.” If only she could be half as patient as Nanny.

“You’ve never mentioned your mother before.”

Accustomed to thinking of Nanny as her mother figure, Sophie hadn’t considered his misunderstanding her remark. He’d divulged a part of himself and apparently wanted something in return.

She decided it might be wise to share a piece of herself with him after all. Maybe then he could understand her better, not think as poorly of her when she couldn’t come through for him. The subject of her mother offered a safe confidence to exchange since it no longer hurt her. “I’ve never met my mother.”

David paused, eyes narrowing for a flash before he scooped another dripping spoonful of ice cream.

“My dad and his girlfriend—I’ve never thought of her as my mother—let things go a little too far in the backseat of a car. You can guess the rest. She hid the pregnancy from her folks until it was too late for an abortion. Lucky for me, huh?”

David didn’t smile.

“Her parents made arrangements with an adoption agency.” Sophie wrinkled her nose with a grin. “Then Nanny got wind of things.”

That earned a chuckle from David.

“I see you understand my Nanny quite well. While Dad finished school, we lived with Nanny and Gramps. Even after Dad finished the Academy, we never bothered moving out.”

“Your dad was an Air Force Academy grad?”

Sophie’s spoon stopped in midair. Slowly, she brought it to her mouth and ate. How did he manage to lead her into saying more than she wanted? Lowell had always pushed for answers. David seemed to have an artist’s touch for letting her talk herself into a corner.

The ice cream melted on her tongue. “Just like you, David, he was a great aviator with a wonderful sense of honor and justice.” She set her bowl aside and stared at the strong man in front of her. For once her ice cream offered little comfort. “There were no shades of gray in his world. He put on his flight suit every day and fought the bad guys. I respected him, just like I respect you.”

The next part never got easier. Forcing the words, she hoped to somehow prove to David, as well as to herself, that she wasn’t like Leslie. She had powerful reasons for pushing David away.

“He died, David. He died in combat; his fighter jet held back enemy fire while they sent in a rescue team to get pinned-down soldiers.” Her mind filled with images of her father on that mission, so close to the same mission that had earned David his Distinguished Flying Cross. “Then he got shot down. He died in the crash. I know what my father did was honorable, but I was still so mad at him for leaving.”

While the ache would never go away, surprisingly, the anger eased with being acknowledged. Sharing with David helped. “You and Haley Rose, well, it’s difficult to watch you two sometimes.”

She tossed her napkin on top of the remaining ice cream, her appetite long gone. “My teenage years were rocky. It’s no big secret that I married Lowell as a
father-figure substitute—without the risky uniform. Who would have thought he had dangerous hobbies like flying under bridges?”

Dangerous and deadly.

“Now do you understand?” She needed his understanding, his forgiveness. “Yes, I know you’re different from Lowell. But I’m not a risk taker, and you’re one great big sexy risk. I tell myself I don’t want Brice’s life disrupted. The truth is, I can’t go through watching another man die. I wish I could be strong enough to say none of it matters, but it does.”

“You’re turning me down before I can even propose officially.”

“David, damn it, why do you have to rush this and push so hard?”

“For the very reason you just said. Life is fragile. There are no guarantees.” He tapped the picture Ricky had drawn. “This tells us that all too well. Things can change in a flash. We can’t afford to waste the present.”

His words settled inside her so heavily, she wanted to scream in frustration. She knew that, damn it. She didn’t need reminding. She’d definitely had enough talking for one night.

She swept aside her files and leaned across the coffee table. She grabbed David by the shirt and hauled him toward her for a full-on, no-holds-barred kiss.

His arms banded around her without hesitation, his mouth opening. The sweet taste of ice cream lingering on his bold tongue. When he swept her into his arms, she didn’t bother protesting this time. She knew David wouldn’t drop her, and he’d been very clear on how much he enjoyed her curves.

Living for the moment sounded like a damn fine idea right now.

*    *    *

David stood at the bedroom window, watching the sunrise and checking the lake for any suspicious boats. Sleep was hard to come by, even with a security system in place.

He glanced back at Sophie, still sleeping, curled up on her side, hugging a pillow. She looked tired, too tired, with an exhaustion that went beyond dark smudges under the eyes.

The furrows of worry across her brow hadn’t quite smoothed in sleep. He didn’t know how to take those burdens on for her. For a man of action, the lack of control frustrated him.

What had her father been like? Had the happier childhood memories been tainted by his death? His thumb rubbed at the creases in her forehead as if he could remove years of sorrow.

If something happened to him, would Haley Rose remember the good times? She already carried a sack full of anguish from her mother’s neglect. What kind of adult would she grow into if she lost him, too?

While death on the job was an unspoken reality, he didn’t dwell on it overmuch, couldn’t afford to let it steal his concentration. Sophie’s father could have been any number of men he’d worked with, friends he’d lost. Littered among other nightmares, he could hear the strains of funeral taps, the keening of bagpipes, the choked cries of families.

He could continue his determined path of persuasion and possibly earn Sophie’s love. But would she be happy? Would he?

Yes, he wanted her, even loved her, but could he withstand another relationship where he wasn’t accepted unreservedly in return? Could she watch him strap on his shoulder harness every day? He didn’t know. For once, he settled for an area of gray, certain the answer would steal away the woman in his arms.

He traced an almost translucent stretch mark gracing her hip. She wore her motherhood with pride. His fingers splayed over her flat stomach, and he couldn’t stop from thinking of his child growing there.

Too easily, he could imagine spending the rest of his life with her, not just as the mother of his children but a woman he could laugh with, talk to, enjoy listening to the same piece of music with. Even with the areas of gray, they enjoyed untwisting the tangled legal system. So much right, so much more than sex. Although sex with Sophie had been beyond his expectations, and his expectations had been pretty damned incredible.

Thoughts of her guiding hand stirred a response. A quick glance at the clock offered him the reassurance of another half hour until the alarm launched them into a day of uncertain outcome.

Once he took Sophie to base, he needed to backtrack and talk to his sister again, get more details on what happened between her and Caleb. He needed to tell Sophie about his sister’s affair as soon as he had the facts straight.

But before either of them started what promised to be a rough day…

Curvaceous breasts begged his mouth to taste. The dip of her waist tempted him to caress. Sliding his arm under her shoulder, he palmed the back of her head to angle her mouth toward his for a wake-up call better than any alarm.

Seeing the smudges under her eyes and furrows lining her brow stopped him.

David nestled Sophie against his chest. He held her while she stole final minutes of sleep and another piece of his heart.

*    *    *

Nibbling kisses tugged at Sophie’s lower lip.

“Time to wake up.”

David’s husky drawl slid over her with as much arousing power as his touch. His roughened hands smoothed over her brow, gently stroked over her closed eyes.

“
Uhmmm
.” She cuddled nearer, nudging her leg between his. Her throat raw from too little sleep, she opted for another moan of appreciation instead. She willed the world to stay outside for a few precious memories longer.

“Come on, lazybones.” He nuzzled a kiss on top of her head.

Her eyes fluttered open. A perfect view of his stubborn chin, peppered with morning stubble, greeted her. His determination had some definite benefits.

She wiggled against him, pleased to discover he might be amenable to lingering in bed. “What’s your hurry?”

“You’ve got court.” He untangled her arms from around his neck. “I’ve got some details to track down at work.”

“I’ll put on my makeup in the car.” Even with muscles still deliciously achy from their night of lovemaking, her body reacted to his.

“Court in an hour.”

“David!” His words startled her fully awake. “Why did you let me sleep so late?” She kicked aside the covers
and bolted for the bathroom before she had too much time to miss his strong arms.