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With exquisite tenderness, he bent and kissed her. “To be continued,” he whispered.
Without another word, he scooped her up with the quilt, rose, and carried her back to the guest room. Lowering her to the bed, he tucked her in and bent to brush a kiss across her mouth. “Get some sleep,” he said. “I’ll wake you early.”
Natalie settled in with a little purring sound. She was already drifting into peaceful slumber.
At first light, Beau stood, stretched his cramped limbs, and wandered into the kitchen to start the coffeemaker. The night had been quiet, with no sign that Slade had come around. But he wanted to make sure.
While the coffee was brewing, he went out the front door, locked it behind him, and walked the perimeter of the house and clinic. He saw no fresh boot prints, no unfamiliar tire tracks or any other sign that someone had been here in the night.
Satisfied, he went back inside and poured himself a cup of coffee. He would need to wake Natalie soon. He wanted to help her choose a gun and show her how to load and fire it. A 20-gauge double-barrel shotgun would be light enough for her to shoot without too much recoil, simple to aim, and deadly enough at close range to blast any intruder to kingdom come. There was bound to be one in Slade’s gun safe.
But would Natalie have the guts to pull the trigger, especially if the target was her estranged husband?
Beau could only hope it wouldn’t come to that. If Slade did show up, the sight of the gun and the awareness of what it could do would hopefully be enough to keep him at a distance.
Once he got her set up with the gun, it would be time to leave. He was needed at the ranch, and for appearance’s sake, he wanted to be gone before some passing busybody saw him backing out of Natalie’s garage.
Setting the coffee cup on the counter, he walked into the guest room to wake her. She lay on her side, so beautiful that she almost stopped his heart.
Last night he’d given her a needed release. But he knew better than to read too much into that. This morning she could wake up and see him in a different light, and the chasm of time and hurt that had separated them would open again.
Either way, what happened next would be up to her.
One bare foot peeked out from under the quilt. Beau reached down and gave her toe a playful tug. She stirred, rolled onto her back, and opened her eyes. “Hello, you,” she murmured dreamily.
“Time to get moving, sleepyhead,” he said, giving her a grin.
“Not qui
te yet.” She held up her arms, fingers beckoning. “Come here.”
Laughing, he bent down to give her a light kiss. As their lips brushed, her arms locked around his neck.
“You said something about ‘to be continued.’ ” Her voice was a kittenish growl. “So continue.”
Heart pounding, he deepened the kiss, then pulled away. “You’re sure this is what you—”
“Shut up and get undressed, Beau Tyler.”
His erection sprang free as he unzipped his jeans. Peeling off his clothes and boots, he lowered himself to the bed and into her waiting arms. She was all sweetness, all warmth and eagerness, pulling him close, offering him her mouth, her perfect little breasts, and the hungry heat between legs, urging him with little whimpers to take her and ease the throbbing need that drove them both.
As he found the familiar sweet spot and eased his shaft into her moist, welcoming silk, Beau felt a sense of completion, as if he’d come full circle. After a long, dark, and painful journey, he was, at last, home.
Natalie stood at the living room window, watching Beau back the battered ranch pickup out of the driveway. Every inch of her body tingled in the afterglow of his lovemaking. It was as if they’d never been apart, but even more poignant this time because they were both older and wiser, both scarred with their own personal wounds and in desperate need of healing.
Her eyes followed the tailgate as the vehicle grew smaller with distance and disappeared around the corner. Making love with Beau had been as natural as breathing.
Just like that, it was like spinning backward through a time warp. A life with Beau was all she’d ever desired. But could she trust him this time? Could she trust fate not to snatch him away from her again?
If she wanted a life with Beau, she would have no choice except to gamble with her heart a second time. Right now the way looked clear. Given Slade’s history of infidelity and abuse, the court was likely to grant her a speedy divorce. Then, after a decent interval, she and Beau would be free to marry.
So why was this dark premonition hanging over her? Why couldn’t she shake this irrational fear that, once again, some unforeseen force was lurking in the shadows, waiting to tear them apart?
She glanced back at the double-barreled 20-gauge shotgun that was propped against the end of the couch. Before leaving, she’d opened the gun safe with the new combination Tori had left her. The safe was crammed full of Slade’s guns, which he’d collected avidly for years—everything from antique muzzle-loaders to modern military assault rifles, many of them loaded. Beau had been forced to remove most of the guns from the safe before he found a weapon she could use.
After he’d replaced the guns and she’d locked the safe, he’d given her a brief lesson on how to load and fire the lightweight shotgun. Just touching the trigger had made Natalie’s skin crawl, but she’d promised Beau she’d keep it with her at all times, in the house and in her vehicle.
She could only pray she would never have to use it.
