If Tomorrow Never Comes (Harper Falls Book 2) (37 page)

"Dani." This time he used a firmer, louder tone as he moved up close. Her head whipped around, emerald eyes shooting fire. When she saw him, recognized who it was, her shoulders slowly relaxed and she straightened. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Your lip is bleeding." Seeing it, Alex was about to pick up the unconscious man and beat the hell out of him all over again.

"Airbag," Dani said, holding him tight.

"Did he touch you?"

"Just to pull me out of the truck. He thought I was knocked out, so he put me over by the tree and forgot about me."

"Big mistake." Thank God.

"You think? That—" Dani thought for a moment and then let out another stream of language. Alex had heard all the words before, he'd just never heard them all in one sentence.

"Does your mother know you talk like that?" he asked. The sound of sirens getting closer meant he could leave the clean up to someone else and get his lady to the emergency room.

"She does not. And you'd better not tell her." Dani sighed as Alex lifted her into his arms and rested her head gratefully on his shoulder. She didn’t have a drop of adrenaline left. If she'd had to walk out of there under her own power? Well, no one would have seen her for at least a week.

"You're secret is safe with me, baby."

IF IT HAD just been a local incident the red tape, interviews and general clean up of a very messy situation would have been bad enough. However, this involved the United States government and that meant nothing was done expeditiously. It was frustrating, but Alex had dealt with it personally for years and knew the routine. Luckily, Dani was out of it. As far as anyone but those closest to her knew, she had been nothing but a victim.

The decision had been quick and surprisingly easy to pull off. Alex had recognized immediately that if word got out to the military, it would only be a matter of time before the press found out. Then neither side would ever leave her alone. What she had done was heroic--superhuman. Under the circumstances, anyone who had done what she'd single-handedly accomplished would have gained instant celebrity status. But a woman? One who looked like Dani? The interest would have skyrocketed, taking forever to die down—to some extent, it never would.

So Alex had acted fast. He had outlined the situation to Dani, Jack, and Drew and then given her a choice. Tell everyone that she had taken down Pete Landry, or instead, tell them it had been the three men working together. If they stuck to their story, made it simple and none of them wavered when telling it, Dani could be kept out of the majority of the publicity.

"It's up to you," he told her. But she had to decide fast. As they spoke, police cars were pulling up. What they said in the next few minutes would determine how this played out for months, maybe years.

Dani didn't even have to think about it. She knew exactly what Alex was telling her and she knew he was right. She'd seen it enough times, been in the middle of the hounding press, took the pictures. It was the last thing she wanted for herself. The endless requests for interviews, pictures. The digging into every aspect of her life and that of her friends and family. Someone would want to write a book, make a movie. Authorized or not, both would be done.

"Keep me out of it."

And they had. As far as the world was concerned, Dani Wilde was just an unfortunate pawn—wrong place, wrong time.

The Army wanted answers, but they also wanted it kept as low key as possible. The story circulated to the general public was a simple one. A disgruntled ex-soldier had fixated on H&W Security as the source of all his problems. It was made very clear that though Alex Fleming had served with the perpetrator, there was no connection between that and Pete Landry's actions. The man was a deeply troubled individual, nothing more. The fact that he had an inoperable brain tumor helped with the overall viability of the official story. It was news, but it didn't explode into anything more. A couple of news cycles and most of the world stopped caring.

As for Harper Falls and its residents, the incident on Crossfire Hill, as it was now being called, was the subject on everyone's lips. That too, died down, though the speculation never really did. Like any small town it was a subject that got resurrected from time to time and then put away again, nothing much ever coming of it.

The most important thing as far as Dani was concerned was that Boyd was going to be fine. He had a concussion and a broken nose, but he would make a full recovery. And she was determined to keep reassuring him that none of what had happened was his fault. They had done everything they could in order to stay safe, a madman had tried to kill them, and they had survived. As far as she was concerned, that last part was all that mattered. They had walked away, which made them the winners.

What she couldn't control and hadn't seen coming, was the Army's renewed pursuit of Alex. They wanted him back. And now that Pete Landry was out of the way, locked up for what she hoped was the rest of his life, they seemed to think Alex would want to pick up his career right where he had left off.

"I'll only be gone a few days."

"I know."

"It just seemed easier to be debriefed in D.C."

Alex was packing one bag, that was all. Dani sat on his bed, watching. She didn't say much and that made him nervous. She had come through it all with only a few cuts and bruises. Mentally, she was still pretty angry, but it had helped that she had been able to beat the hell out of the man who had been bent on killing them both.

Flying across the country instead of having the Army come to him seemed like another way to keep as much of this as possible away from her. There was no reason to think the brass hadn't bought their story, but he wanted it to stay that way.

"I'll be back by Friday, at the latest."

"Okay."

"I'm coming back."

"I know."

She met his gaze head on and what he saw in her eyes just plain pissed him off. Resignation. Didn't he deserve better?

"Do you?"

"When you get on that plane tomorrow morning, you leave with nothing hanging over you. You came to Harper Falls to start a new life, but only because the old one had blown up in your face. It doesn't matter that it had been through no fault of your own. You walked away." She sighed, trying not to let the worry seep into her voice. "There is nothing stopping you from going back, Alex."

"Not even you?"

Dani toyed nervously with the end of the blanket before looking at him again.

"You asked me not so long ago if I had any regrets. Well, I lied."

That stopped him—dead in his tracks. "You did?"

She nodded. "If I could go back, there is one very big thing I would change. I wouldn't let you go."

Alex joined her on the bed, lacing his fingers through hers. He raised her hand and kissed the back.

"I don't recall you having a choice."

"Of course I did. I chose to act like some tragic, noble heroine.
Don't say goodbye.
Honestly, what kind of crap was that? I should have fought for you. Instead of meek acceptance, I should have kicked and screamed and caused such a fuss that you would have given in just to shut me up."

"You aren't the make a scene type," he smiled.

"Not normally, no," she agreed. "But if there had ever been a time to give it a try, that would have been it."

Alex smoothed back her hair, running his eyes over her precious face.

"You were just starting your career—I was full of ambition. Do you really think we could have made it work?"

"Maybe." She shrugged. "People do under even crazier circumstances. But I will always regret not taking the chance." She kept her voice steady, but it wasn't easy. She was feeling so much; this was so important. "If I've learned anything these past few days it's that life doesn't give us any guarantees. We have now, this moment. Everything else is a gift. So here's what I want you to know. Go to Washington, listen to the once in a lifetime offer they are going to make you. And decide if it's still what you want."

"Dani—"

She stopped him, covering his lips with her fingers.

"Don't let me be the reason you turn them down, because this time, I'm not letting you go. I don’t care if you’re stationed in Germany or Japan or, God forbid, a red state. This time you're stuck with me, Alex Fleming. Like it or not."

Oh, he liked it. Alex kissed the tips of her fingers before removing her hand.

"Harper Falls?"

"Is, I understand, a great place to visit—and someday retire."

"So, there's no getting rid of you?"

"Nope, and lucky for you, I travel really, really well."

Luck. It had been on his side the night they'd met in Portugal, and stayed with him all the time in between. It had led them back to each other, to this moment.

"It's late. Let's go to bed."

There hadn't been much alone time the past three days. If they weren't talking to the authorities, they were being fussed over by friends and family. Dani had spent the first night with her parents. Alex had gone to Lila's. The next evening everyone had gathered at Jack and Rose's house where they ended up spending the night, Dani and her friends needing to be close.

But tonight was about them. Alex pulled back the covers and got in, opening his arms to her.

"I just want to hold you, all night."

Dani felt her heart skip a beat. Alex wanted to
sleep
with her? Silently, she climbed in, settling her head on his shoulder.

Alex arranged the covers around them then pulled Dani close. He waited for the anxiety, the first stirrings of panic, but none came. He felt her relax against him with complete trust. His eyes grew heavy, his breathing evened out and Alex slept—dreamlessly.

He woke her in the early morning hours, turning to the woman in his arms and taking her with a gentle passion. Dani drifted off again while he watched the sun creep through the windows signaling another day. Alex slid from bed, letting her sleep, and left the room to shower and dress. Ready, he grabbed his bag, his mind going back to another morning when he had silently walked out of her life, so sure it was the right thing to do. But this time would be different.

"Dani," he whispered, going down on his knees. Her eyes flickered open, slowly gaining focus.

"You're dressed." She sat up clutching the sheet to her. "You're leaving."

"It's time." He joined her on the bed. "But before I go, I wanted to tell you something. I love you, Dani. I always have and I always will."

"I love you, too."

"That's good. And you're right, tomorrow is a gift. So I wanted to make sure that this time when I left you, even though it will only be for a short time, you know how I feel. My heart is yours, never doubt it."

After a long kiss, Dani watched him go before lying back and closing her eyes, a smile on her face. Sometimes you could fix the past. She was alone, the man she loved gone. But this time, he was coming back. This time she had love.

The first few days of September were warmer than usual, making it hard for kids to accept the end of summer vacation and transition back to books and school rooms.

Dani was out taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to get the last shots for the Harper Falls Centennial book. Next week she would send it off to the publisher. It had been an interesting project and in a way had chronicled a huge change in not only her life but that of her friends. Back in March she was just starting, capturing the town as it transitioned from winter to spring. May had come, and with it Rose had fallen in love and was now planning her wedding. Summer was in full swing when Alex literally roared back into her life bringing same danger and healing both their hearts.

As fall loomed, Dani wished she knew what was in store for Tyler. She hadn't missed out on any drama as her life seemed to be forever linked to the Harper family, both son and mother. Dani wished her friend smooth roads and happiness. Unfortunately, all she could see were more bumps, more hurt. Nothing worth having it seemed could be had without a big mixture of both.

Dani lifted her camera, capturing the flight of a bald eagle. It glided down the Columbia River, framed by the almost painfully blue sky. She loved it here, but she loved Alex more. If she had to leave, she would do so without one single qualm. How many times did people say
follow your heart
? How many times did they take their own advice and actually do it? Alex took hers wherever he went. He had five years ago, and nothing had changed. She wasn't making the same mistake twice; where he went, where her heart went, she would follow—happily.

They had talked several times since he had left, but the details about his meetings had been vague. Not that she had expected anything else. It was classified, that hadn’t changed. If he chose to rejoin the Army, Alex would never be able to discuss his work in detail, if at all. It was another thing she found herself fine with. She would always be a curious person, but the world was full of interesting things to discover. The military could keep their secrets with her blessing.

She had started her walk around town at her parent's house, and now found herself at the park. The big Labor Day barbecue was on Monday, but at the moment things were relatively quiet. A young woman pushed a toddler on the swing, a baby strapped to her front. The children had to be less than two years apart. Dani admired anyone who could take that on. The baby would soon be crawling, and then watch out, two dynamos constantly going in different directions. As much as she loved her niece and nephew, a few hours with them and she was thrilled to hand them back to their parents. But one? She felt a little tug of want. Someday.

"I think one—someday."

Dani turned and smiled. Ah, there he was, her heart. She walked into Alex's open arms and just held on.

"Miss me?" he whispered into her ear. She squeezed harder. "Yes, this feels like you missed me."

"So much."