Mine - HelenKay Dimon Page 0,23

entire life and had no interest in dealing with them as an adult.

Being vulnerable sucked. “No.”

“Because I shouldn’t have gone—”

“I said no.” She jumped up, needing to walk or move or at least get away from him and the table. She scooped up her bowl and held out a hand to him. “You done?”

“I’ll do the dishes.”

Even better. She dropped her bowl, letting it clank against the table. “Good.”

She got as far as the doorway to the bedroom before his deep voice stopped her. “Natalie?”

With a hand on the frame, she stopped but didn’t bother to look around. “What?”

Silence settled between them. For a few seconds he didn’t say anything. “Nothing.”

SEVEN

Gabe stayed outside as long as he could stand it. Walked the perimeter and re-walked it. Spent some time in the shed. Checked coordinates and the satphone for emergency messages from Andy. Nothing.

With his feet almost frozen and the cold sapping some of his strength, Gabe gave up and went back inside. Before opening the door, he knocked in the agreed-upon sequence to give her fair warning. After that dinner, she might shoot him just for fun.

He walked into the dark cabin and relocked the door. An oil lamp cast the main room in a soft light and heat poured out of the woodstove. He should sit his ass down on the small couch and time out a thirty-minute break before he got up and took watch duty again.

He probably would have done just that if he hadn’t looked into the small alcove by the front door. A doorway to the bed. The mattress just fit, with the edges touching every wall. A small bed in a small space. Going in there spelled disaster. He should walk away. Ignore the need pulling at him to lie across the bed and listen to her breathing.

As if her senses clicked on, she sat straight up. Brushed that sexy hair out of her eyes and squinted. He could see her just fine. Make out every devastating curve despite the covers she had bunched up at her waist. That thermal shirt sure didn’t offer much protection. Not from him.

“Hey.” That’s all she said. A simple greeting.

It pulled him in close. Before he knew it, he stood in the doorway with his knees balancing against the end of the mattress. “Sorry to wake you.”

“You didn’t.” She didn’t even look away as she lied. “I thought you’d keep watch.”

Before dinner he’d gone over all the procedures and the drop spots for her to get to in case danger came calling. She knew about his patrols and the perimeter defense he’d set up. She even spent time watching with her gun ready as he rested for a few minutes while she prepared the soup. He didn’t need to explain what he was doing now, but he did anyway. “I’m taking thirty minutes.”

“Sounds smart.” She slid over, making room for him to basically fall onto the mattress.

This was the part where he should have said “no thanks” and moved on. He knew that as he took off his gun and put it on the one shelf overhanging the mattress. As he put a knee on the bed and crawled up to join her on the pillows.

A few seconds later, he lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t sleep very deep, so you’re fine.”

She curled on her side and faced away from him. “I guess that’s a good trait. Having a kid and all.”

This was the right time to tell her about Brandon. She talked about him like he was in elementary school and abandoned by his father, which probably made sense to her in light of Gabe’s age, but didn’t come close to being right. But for some reason he couldn’t get the words out. Not after seeing the mix of shock and disappointment on her face.

Whatever esteem she’d had for him had fallen, and that pissed him off. He wanted to earn it back without having to give her every detail. And up until now she hadn’t exactly been shy about asking him things or speaking her mind.

He turned and faced her back. Pushed up on his elbow and watched her. “Do you want to ask me something?”

“Do you see him?” she asked, in a voice muffled by blankets and pillows.

“All the time.” Letting Brandon live a normal life had been a daily struggle for Gabe. His instincts told him to protect and hide, but his early years with his father had been