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“I think,” Chance drawled, “he would be now even if he hadn’t been before.”
Jeremy frowned. “What’s that mean?”
“It means that now that he’s found you after a search, it’ll be ingrained in him to look out for you for the rest of his life.”
“I know the feeling,” Nic said, just loud enough for Jackson to hear.
I love him too, Jackson . . .
You made me fall in love with you...
And in that moment, he knew it was true. And the last barrier to Jackson Thorpe truly believing in what he’d found here crumbled. What had happened here had shown him the truth of this place, this town where strangers would come running to help. He felt a sense of connection, of home, that he’d never really felt before. He wanted to stay in this place, and he wanted the woman who had been with him every step of the way tonight.
He turned to look at her as Jeremy ran over to Pie, more settled now that the storm had moved farther away, and Shane—the police chief!—gave him a leg up.
“You know that... fall you said you took?”
Something in her expression changed, visible even now, in the faint light. “I remember.”
“You wanted me to be honest? Well, here goes. I was wrong.”
Her brow furrowed. “About what?”
“When I said I’d never be in love again.” Her eyes widened. He hastened to finish, to get it said. “I took that fall a while ago, Nic. I love you too.”
And at the look she gave him then, Jackson Thorpe had the crazy thought that this storm hadn’t just lit up the sky, it had lit up his heart.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Ithink weneed to make a test run.”
Nic blinked. A test run? She had no idea what he meant, but then her thinking was a little foggy after the afternoon encounter they’d just had. The delightful, explosive encounter they’d just had, the latest one in the string that had made the last two weeks pass with lightning speed. She was already regretting that this one had to end before Jeremy finished his session with Mom, and she had to start her last training session of the day with a new client.
“I thought we were way past test runs,” she said, running a hand down his back to cup that taut backside she simply loved the feel of. “And we passed with flying colors,” she added with a grin.
He smiled back at her, but his voice was quietly serious when he spoke. “I meant a test run to see exactly how long it would take to get from here”—he patted the bed—“in this state, to your folks’ house.”
She frowned, puzzled now. She slid over onto her side, and he rolled with her, clearly intent on whatever this was. She propped herself up on one elbow. And waited. Jackson reached up and stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers, an oddly gentle move, considering how crazed they had just been, taking each other wildly.
“I know you’re worried about your dad,” he said. “And you want to be close.”
She was no longer surprised when he made one of those perceptive jumps. She’d never told him why she’d always stayedin her wing of the main house, even when this place she loved had been empty.
“Mom can only do so much,” she said, admitting it.
“I know. I think if we install an alarm or panic button that registers up here, and we practice a bit, we could get it down to, say, three minutes, to get down there. We can practice up on CPR, too, and I think I could carry him to the car if necessary, and—”
“Jackson,” she said, cutting him off. “What, exactly, are you getting at?”
He grimaced. “I just wanted to... I’m trying to figure out a way...” He let out a clearly exasperated breath, jammed his fingers through his hair, and grimaced again. And when he spoke this time, it was short and blunt. “I want you here. All the time. So I’m trying to figure out how to make it work. So you’ll say yes.”
“You want me to... move in with you?”
“You said you’ve always loved his place, and I figured the only reason you didn’t move in before was your dad, so if I could fix it so we could get there fast enough—”
He stopped suddenly, an odd expression coming over his face. That face millions of women loved, and that she did now, as well, although for entirely different reasons.
“Unless,” he began hesitantly, “I’m jumping the gun here. If you don’t want—”
