broke loose and my eyes flooded with tears. “How selfish would it be to bring children into that situation?”
A soft smile covered his face and tenderness filled his eyes. “I’m gonna help you bring him down.”
My back stiffened. “Wyatt promised me the same thing and he got stalled on part one—dealing with his father.”
His body stiffened. “You’re comparin’ me to Wyatt Drummond now?”
“No!” I got up and walked to the porch railing, staring into the dark woods. Trying to pull myself together. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”
When he didn’t say anything, I spun around to face him, my butt leaning against the railing. “I had hopes and dreams too,” I said with a wry laugh as I wiped the tears from my face with my fingertips. “I wanted to marry a man that I loved and who loved me—really loved me. I wanted kids and a happy home.” Another sob broke loose. “I’ve never wanted much, Marco. I just want to be loved.”
He remained in his seat staring at me with a tenderness that stole my breath.
“Am I that unlovable that men have to have a reason to care about me? Jake. Wyatt. My dad.”
“No, Carly,” he said softly, getting to his feet but keeping his distance. “I can assure you that you’re not. People love you for just being you. Hank treats you like his own daughter and doesn’t want a thing from you. Those kids at the tutorin’ club adore you. And sure, you’re givin’ them something, but no kid that age is excited to come learn. They’re eager to see you.”
I nodded. Hank was more of a father to me than Randall Blakely ever had been. Then again, I was pretty sure Randall Blakely didn’t consider me his real daughter. And those kids…they gave me a sense of purpose I hadn’t had in over a year. But they were also a sharp reminder of what I’d lost. What I’d probably never have again.
“And they’re not the only ones who love you, Carly,” he said, taking a step closer.
My heart raced, because our conversation had circled back to square one.
His shoulders lifted. “You want to neutralize Bart Drummond before we go after your father. So we need to step up our efforts to make that happen. We’re going to look for the chink in his armor, and Pam Crimshaw just might be it.”
Tears streamed down my face, because I knew what he was doing. I’d learned long ago that talk was cheap. Actions were what mattered, and he was ready to step up and do his part.
“You could get in trouble,” I said. “It’s an active investigation and you can’t be part of it.”
He closed the distance between us, pulling me into a fierce hug. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest. While part of me ached for more, the part that had missed him so deeply soaked in his nearness. “Don’t you worry about that. I have other avenues. How about you focus on talking to Pam’s friends and kids? Find out what state of mind she was in after Thad had his accident a couple of years ago. We’ll figure out where to go from there. And maybe it’s time to dust off some of the other cases you’ve been lookin’ into. We’ll figure out a way to ask questions without lookin’ nosy.”
I nodded against his chest, starting to feel foolish for breaking down. “Sorry I lost it like that.”
“No,” he said, squeezing me tighter. “You keep it all bottled up. It’s okay to break down from time to time.” He lifted his hand to my cheek and tilted my head back to stare up at him. “Thank you for trusting me enough to do it in front of me.”
I nodded, not feeling steady enough to speak.
“How about I come over to Hank’s tomorrow morning before I head to work? I’ll tell you what I found out from Max, and we can narrow down the cases you’ve collected and figure out which ones to focus on.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll make you breakfast.”
A mischievous grin lit up his eyes. “It’s not going to be some of that healthy shit you feed Hank, now is it?”
I laughed, and it felt good. “If you want real bacon, you’ll have to bring your own. But I’ll make sure the pancakes and eggs are as real as they can be.”
“Deal,” he said, relief filling his eyes. “It’ll be kind of early. Seven?”
“I can be