Storm (Linear Tactical #10) - Janie Crouch Page 0,80
place as he signaled, and they slowly began to rise.
“I knew you would come for me,” she said.
His arm tightened around her waist. “I will always come for you.”
They got to the top and he jumped off and reached out to help her get off the rope.
She smiled at him. “Don’t you drop me because I want us to get married.” Saying it was much easier after the near-death experience.
She wasn’t expecting the utter silence that fell all around them.
“Oh shit, should I start recording now, Storm?”
“No!” Noah glared at someone behind her. “This isn’t it, dumbass!” His eyes flew back to hers. “And don’t you dare say you want to marry me, gorgeous. It will break Eva’s heart.”
Eva didn’t want her to marry Noah? Had Noah talked to the kids about this? “I don’t understand…”
“You’ve had quite the morning. Why don’t we talk about this later?”
She let him ease her into a resort SUV that had the heater blasting. Before she could ask more questions, a resort doctor was there, checking her temperature, poking her extremities to make sure none of them…had fallen off or whatever. He assured her that both she and Annie—while very lucky—would both be fine. Annie’s leg was just sprained. Cold water and a rock splint had actually been the best thing to keep the swelling under control.
Another resort employee thrust a thermos cup full of hot chocolate into her hands. That felt nice. Warmed the inside of her body as the heater and blanket warmed the outside.
Except for her uncomfortable wet clothes, and the need to take a three-hour nap, she really didn’t feel too bad at all.
Which meant she couldn’t get Noah’s words out of her mind. That Eva would be upset if they got engaged.
How did he know that?
The car door opened again, and she expected Noah, but it was Zac. His handsome face was tense, almost gaunt. She immediately feared the worse.
“Is Annie okay?”
“She’s fine. Happy that her ankle injury won’t mean delaying the wedding.”
He moved into the vehicle and cupped her face with both hands. Slowly, he leaned his forehead against hers. “Everything I have is yours, Marilyn Ellis. I will forever be in your debt for what you did today.”
Before she could even argue otherwise, point out that Annie had saved her long before she saved Annie, he was gone.
Noah got into the vehicle a few seconds later and immediately scooped her into his lap. His friend Trigger—she remembered him from last year when he helped with the New Journeys move—and Noah’s cousin Gavin got in the front seats to drive them back to the hotel.
Noah was kissing all over her face and hair. “When that woman came running up—”
“Lexi.” Gavin provided the name for him.
“When Lexi came up yelling about you two being trapped in a cave with the water rising, I nearly lost my damn mind. You were supposed to be getting a massage! I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to let you out of my sight again.”
The drive back to the resort was much shorter than their hike had been. Gavin and Trigger added their thankfulness that she and Annie were alright and that they’d all gotten there in time—basically stealing the resort SUVs to make it.
“Where were you guys?” she asked from her cuddled position against Noah’s chest. “We thought you were on the other side of the island playing paintball or something.”
That unnatural silence again. Gavin looked at Noah over his shoulder, and even Trigger glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
She pulled away from his chest. “What is going on?”
Nobody answered.
“Really?” She poked Noah in the shoulder. “You’re going to just sit here all...crickets?”
Trigger snickered from the front seat.
Noah glared at the back of his friend’s head. “We can talk about it later. You’ve had a crazy morning.”
They pulled up to the resort and Marilyn jerked herself away from him. “I don’t want to talk about it later. What is going on? Why do you think my kids don’t want us to get married?”
Noah was taken aback. “I don’t think the kids don’t want us to get married. Why would you say that?”
“Because you said so earlier when I said I wanted us to get married. Oh God, it’s you who doesn’t want to get married, isn’t it?”
Marilyn fumbled for the door handle. She needed to keep herself under control. If he didn’t want to get married, that was okay. She’d known that was a possibility.
But still, it hurt.
“Dude,