Scene of the Crime Deadman's Bluff - By Carla Cassidy Page 0,73
she went to the refrigerator, he leaned against the doorjamb between the living room and kitchen. “Are you working a case in Amarillo?” She frowned as her hand shook when she poured the tea.
“Nah, I’m finally taking that vacation that I was going to take when I went to Amber Lake.”
“And you decided to vacation here in Amarillo?” She held out the tea and when he didn’t take it from her she set it on the table, her heart beating faster than it should. “What are you doing here, Seth?”
“When my boss told me to take a vacation I thought of all the places I’d like to be and this was it.” He jammed his hands in his pockets, looking oddly vulnerable as he stared down at the floor. “Maybe now that you’re back here things have changed. Maybe you’ve sorted out your emotions now and don’t feel the same way that you did, but I had to come here and find out.” He raised his gaze to meet hers. “Because, honestly, I can’t stop thinking about you, Tamara.”
Her heart that had been beating too fast seemed to stop in her chest as she stared at him, wanting to...needing to hear the words from him.
He pulled his hands from his pockets and shifted from one foot to the other. “I’d decided a long time ago that I wasn’t going to get married, that I didn’t need the hassle that came with love, but something crazy happened to me from the moment I saw you at the dunes so helpless and vulnerable again.”
She took a step toward him. Her heart beat once again rapidly, leaving her half-breathless with sweet anticipation. “Something crazy?” she echoed.
“I didn’t just want you to be safe. I wanted to smell the scent of your hair, taste your lips, feel your body against mine. But more than that I wanted to see your smile and hear your laughter. I wanted you to be the first person I saw each morning and the last person I saw at night. I love you, Tamara, but I understand if...”
He got no other words out of his mouth for she threw herself into his arms and covered his lips with hers. Their kiss was filled with hunger, but also with a tenderness that found any darkness that might have lingered in Tamara’s heart and lit it with fiery warmth.
“Nothing has changed,” she finally said when the kiss had ended. He tightened his arms around her. “I was hopelessly, desperately in love with you when I drove away from Amber Lake and I feel the same way right now.”
This time his mouth captured hers she tasted home and the promise of love and family and future all wrapped up in his kiss. He moved his lips from hers and blazed a trail of fire down the side of her neck.
“Now this is a vacation,” she whispered.
He gave a low, husky laugh. “No, this is so much more.”
She laughed, knowing that this was a vacation that was going to last a lifetime. She was finally where she belonged...with Seth, the man who had saved her from death and brought love and meaning to her life.
* * * * *
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Chapter One
“This special news report just in—an amber alert has been issued for six-year-old Hank Forte. Hank was last seen at the county fair in Amarillo.”
Brody Bloodworth’s heart clenched as a photo of the boy appeared on screen. The little boy had blond hair, was wearing a black T-shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. He could be one of the kids on the BBL, the Bucking Bronc Lodge he had started for needy children.
But he reminded him more of his own little brother, Will, and launched him back seven years ago to the day Will had gone missing.
Not from a county fair but from the rodeo where he was supposed to be watching him.
Self-loathing and guilt suffused him, once again robbing