Her Hidden Falls Bodyguard Billionaire Cowboy - Taylor Hart Page 0,34
four boys and a husband who was a drunk. She laughed. Laughter is tonic; she used to say that, too.”
Zoey squeezed his hand. “Tell me more.”
“She quoted poetry, too. That’s where I got my love of it. At night, sitting on the swing on the porch, we’d read Whitman and Byron and Shelley and Shakespeare. She loved the melody of words.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
“It was.” A stab of pain pierced the center of his chest. “It’s one of the things I miss most about her—the way she spoke. Mama always believed in justice, and believe me, she made us boys toe the line, but she always believed in people. She believed in people doing the right thing because it was right.”
“That saying in your kitchen,” Zoey whispered.
“Exactly.” He smiled, thinking of that old piece of wood that his mother had painted those words on. “She always told us boys that we had to have faith in people, that they were mostly good. That we had to be the good in the world.”
She blinked, and he could tell he’d touched something inside of her.
He didn’t say anything else. The song changed, and they kept dancing.
“What are you thinking?” he finally asked.
“My mother always told me to see what I wanted in the world and be that. She …” Her eyelids fluttered. “My mother was so good, and I miss her, too.”
They were still swaying back and forth, and holding her close. It was stupid. He shouldn’t even be thinking this, because she was a case to him, but he wished he could show this woman how good she was. “I believe in you, Zoey.”
She pulled back and searched his eyes. “You are a good man, Sean. And I feel bad because I let you be my friend and I let you have those feelings about me when I knew that my life was a lie. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
She put her hand up. “I know, but I need you to hear me. I was just so alone and scared, and you were like this wave of goodness and love and kindness and fun.” She sniffed. “Your whole family was like that for me.”
He hugged her, even as so many mixed feelings were stirred up inside of him.
She pulled back and reached out to him. “Should we go back now?”
He stared at her outstretched hand.
Gingerly, she laced her fingers through his and then leaned in, kissing his cheek. “C’mon, Mr. Baxter. Play the part.”
Chapter 17
They walked back to the beach house. Their hands were still linked, and though Zoey wasn’t sure if they were the Baxters or themselves right now, she kept her hand in Sean’s. All the things he’d said about his mother, the things he believed despite his painful past … it had affected Zoey deeply.
Sean dropped her hand. “I’m going to propose something.”
“Oh, you’re proposing?”
He stammered, “Not like that.”
“Well, good, because this wouldn’t be the place to do it.” She looked around. “Yes, a beautiful beach would definitely be the worst place to propose.”
“What I was about to say was, what if we started fresh?”
“What do you mean?”
“As friends.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “As Sean Hardman and Zoey Fletcher kind of friends. Right now. Just as us.”
Zoey hummed in thought. It was an interesting proposition.
“And we can get to know each other again. I mean …” He rolled his eyes. “It’s not like you’re stuck with me for the next four days or anything.”
She smiled. As if she wasn’t an FBI assignment? She wasn’t sure. Sean had convinced her of one thing, though. She would testify.
She sighed. She hated the idea of going back in WITSEC, of trusting people.
He nudged her. “So what do you say?”
“Fine.” She put her hand out. “Nice to meet you, Sean.”
“Nice to meet you, Zoey.”
She had been denying her feelings for this man for the past year and a half, and now he was one of the only people who knew her real name. It felt good. She pumped his hand up and down.
He let go, his expression turning serious again. “I am your friend, Zoey. You can trust me.”
And he was trusting her. The knowledge was touching. “I’m your friend, too, Sean.” She made another decision. “And I promise that I’ll be a much better friend than I was to you … before.”
Time slowed to a crawl. She yearned to kiss him again, like they had earlier.
Gently, he pushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. “You’ve been so strong for