Page 147 of Shadowing You

A laugh bubbled out of her. “I can walk, my husband.”

He kissed her again, rough and eager, then started for the stairs. “I’d rather you didn’t have the chance to change your mind.”

“I will not change my mind.”

“All the same.”

She rested her head on his shoulder as he carried her up the stairs and to her door, but before he stepped through, he searched her face, asking without words for permission.

She kissed him, hoping her answer was clear.

And then they were in the room. And then they were on the bed. And then they were together again, as they should have been all along.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Ethan stood in the doorway to the study.

Asher sat behind the desk, three monitors angled toward him. He leaned back in the chair. “What’s up?”

Ethan leaned against the frame. “We thought we’d go for a walk, down to the water, maybe.”

“No.”

“We’ve been cooped up since we got here.”

“I hear you.” Asher shook his head. “No.”

Ethan shifted so he could see the screens. On the nearest one, the driveway ran gray into the pines. Nothing moved on that screen or any of them.

“Just around the house.”

“Sorry.”

“Is there a trail?” He remembered what he’d seen in the garage. “There must be a trail for those snowmobiles. We could go for a ride. Even if someone saw us, we’d be moving too fast for anyone to catch us.”

“It’s not safe.”

“Come on, man. My wife’s going stir crazy. She was in prison for six years. Did you know that? It’s not fair to keep her locked up.”

Asher made a show of looking around. “This isn’t exactly a Chinese prison. I think she’ll survive.”

“You know what? You’re not the boss of me.”

Asher’s mouth tugged at one corner as if he might accidentally smile. “Maybe not, but I am armed.”

Right. Like he was going to hold them at gunpoint. “You said it yourself—it’s our second honeymoon. Just let us get outside for a few minutes.”

Asher looked at the monitors, then out the window, where the thick forest separated the house from the road. The sky was bright blue, the sun shining overhead.

Ethan had woken with his wife’s head on his chest, her hand flat over his heart, her breath slow and even, and he’d lain there a long time, thanking God for all of it. Mostly, thanking Him for the woman who’d chosen him all over again.

Apparently, Gavin and his official intelligence-official friend had gotten through to the hospital’s administrators. Ethan’s job would be waiting for him whenever he got back. Donahue had texted a couple of hours before.

Can’t wait to hear the whole story. Sounds like you were quite the hero.

Hardly.

Just a desperate husband.