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is likely to happen, but I can’t help thinking…”
He took her by the shoulders then, gripping her tightly. “No,” he said sternly, his heart filling with a mixture of concern, tenderness and understanding. His mind groped for the words to comfort her. “You’re not overreacting. It is going to be dangerous; I’m not trying to whitewash our assignment. But, Lindy, my sweet Lindy, I’ve never had anything more to live for than I do right this minute.”
“You’d better come back to me, Rush Callaghan.” She said it as though it were a fierce threat and the consequences would be dire if he didn’t.
Death was the only thing that would keep him from Lindy. Unless…The thought was as crippling to him as the fear of him dying was to Lindy. “Then you’d better be waiting for me.”
Her sturdy gaze held his and his hands slid from their grip on her shoulder to stroke her slim, swan-like neck.
“You still don’t trust my love, do you?” she asked, looking sad and disappointed.
“Yes,” he answered, nodding his head for emphasis. “I believe you.” He wasn’t sure he should—she was so young, so susceptible—but God help him, he needed everything Lindy was so generously offering him.
He took her hand and brushed his lips over her palm and then, because he couldn’t resist and didn’t give a tinker’s damn who was watching, he kissed her mouth.
* * *
It was ten by the time the Yakima docked in Seattle. The hike to the apartment was a steep climb, but the night was so gorgeous that Lindy didn’t want to hurry home. Every minute left was precious and wasting even a single one would be a crime.
“Let’s go to the park,” she suggested.
Rush looked bewildered for a moment, and asked, “What park?”
“The one here on the waterfront.”
“Whatever for?”
Lindy laughed and slapped her hand noisily against her side. “So much for romance.”
“Romance?”
“Come on, Rush. I’m finished crying. When you sail off into the sunset, I’ll be there wearing a smile. All I ask is for you to humor me a little before you go. If that means taking a short detour to look at the stars from Waterfront Park, I think you should at least be willing.”
“Lindy—” he said her name on the tail end of a sigh “—you’ve got to get up and go to work in the morning.”
She thought for a moment he might refuse her, but he didn’t. He slipped his arm around her waist and guided her in the direction of the park.
They climbed the stairs to the second level and stood at the railing, overlooking the quiet green water. The lights from Harbor Island and West Seattle flickered like moonbeams dancing in the distance.
Lindy folded her hands over the cold steel rail, Rush behind her, his chin resting on the crown of her head. “Remember the last time we were here?” Lindy asked, thinking of their wild race up the stairs and the joy she’d experienced in having bested him.
“Yes.” Rush’s low voice carried a frown.
Lindy twisted around and gazed up at him. “Why do you say it like that?”
“You called me Paul. Remember?”
It took her a second to recall that and all that had happened afterward. “Was that really such a short time ago?” It felt like years instead of just a few weeks.
“Yes.” His brow pleated with a grim look.
“No wonder you think I can’t possibly know my own heart,” she whispered, a little desperately. “No wonder you’ve never told me how you feel.”
His brows lowered even more, shadowing his face as though he’d realized he’d never said it. “I love you, Lindy.”
She closed her eyes and let the words rain down over her heart like velvety smooth flower petals, relishing each one, holding them close so she would have them later when she needed them. “I know,” she whispered, the tears back in her voice. “I just wanted to hear you say it one time before you left.”
“Lindy?” Rush dropped his hands from her shoulders. His mind was buzzing, as active as any hive. He felt weak from her touch, weak from the effect of her tears, weak with a desperate need to hold her and make her his own. He’d loved unwisely before, and had given up the dream of ever finding happiness again. And then Lindy, his sweet beautiful Lindy, had slammed into his life, and Rush knew he would never be the same again. His heart felt as if it would burst as he pulled her closer, breathing in the perfumed scent that was hers alone.
“Yes?”
Rush couldn’t believe the thoughts that were bouncing around in his mind like Mexican jumping beans. Nothing seemed to keep them still. He loved Lindy. He desired her in a way that went miles beyond the physical. Her courage, her honesty, her spirit—each had shattered every defense he’d managed to erect over the years. From the moment they’d met, she’d played havoc with his heart.
“Rush?” She was staring up at him with wide, inquiring eyes.
“I think we should get married.” There. It was out. He watched as the surprise worked its way over her features, touching her eyes first, narrowing them as though she wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. Then the excitement and happiness broke out and glowed from every part of her, followed almost immediately by swift tears that brimmed in her clear, brown eyes. When her teeth bit into her lower lip, Rush wasn’t sure what to think. She tossed her arms around him, and Rush felt the shiver work through her despite the warmth of the June evening.
“Yes, I’ll marry you.” Her answer was issued in a small voice that pitched and faltered like a boat bobbing in a storm at sea. “When?”
“We’ll buy the ring tomorrow.”
She nodded, her eyes bright and eager. “I’ll arrange to take off early enough so we can get to the courthouse before it closes.”
“The courthouse?”
“For the license.” She cast him a stern look that convinced him she would make a wonderful mother.
Once he understood the implication, Rush frowned, unsure how to proceed. “But I don’t want to get married now.”
The happiness that had been shining from her face faded, then vanished completely to be replaced by a stunned, hurt look.
“I see,” she whispered, and took a step back, away from him. “You want us to wait six months until you return from this tour?”
It made a hell of a lot of sense to Rush, and when he spoke his voice was soft yet inexorable. “Of course.”
“I see.”
“Would you quit saying that like I’d just suggested we live in sin?”
Rush could tell that she was struggling to compose her thoughts. Confusion and another emotion he couldn’t define tightened her brow, and she looked to be on the verge of breaking into tears—but these weren’t tears of sudden happiness.
“I need to think,” she announced, stiffly turning away from him and hurrying down the concrete stairs.
Rush, watching her run away from him like a frightened doe, held up his hands in a gesture of utter bewilderment. They couldn’t get married so soon. For God’s sake, they’d known each other less than three weeks.
* * *
Lindy walked as fast as her legs would carry her, and her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it all the way to her