“Not yet. But lend me your car and by the time I get back, I just might be.”
“Look, I’m not sure about this...”
“You promised, Ty.”
Ty sighed. “I did.”
“I’m in the subway station. We’re going to lose the connection. Where’s the car?”
“At the house. In the garage.” Ty’s voice hardened. “Safe from a blizzard.”
“Is Shannyn home?”
“Yes....”
“Please tell her I’ll get there as soon as I can. Thanks in advance for the keys.”
“Do not wreck my car!” Ty shouted just before the connection was lost.
The sky was just getting light when Damon turned down the suburban street in Illinois. There weren’t many Slaters listed with phone numbers and he was hoping he had the right one. B. Slater. He was sure Haley had said her brother’s name was Brad. Damon had made good time and outrun the forecast snow. Seventeen hours and ten minutes, and no speeding tickets.
No dents in Ty’s car, either. He’d even filled the tank with premium gas, guessing that Ty did that, as well.
Damon checked the address he’d found online and drove slowly down the street, looking for the number. The houses were very similar to each other and appeared to have been built about thirty years before. The majority of them were well-kept with fairly new station wagons and SUVs in the driveways. He slowed down when the numbers told him that he was close and parked at the curb in front of a tidy bungalow. There was a full size red pick-up in the driveway, a pretty new one, with a firefighters’ logo on the license plate.
Her brother was a firefighter.
Damon was in the right place.
He rubbed a hand over his chin, knowing he had a healthy five-o’clock shadow, and was glad he’d brushed his teeth at the last rest stop. He cleared his throat and got out of the car, with the roses. They were looking a little less than their best but he didn’t want to waste time looking for another bouquet. He rang the bell, hearing the chimes echo inside the house.
The door was opened immediately by a tall guy with brown hair, roughly Damon’s own age, his brows drawn together in a scowl. He had eyes of the same blue as Haley’s but they were piercing and decisive. He openly surveyed Damon and clearly didn’t like what he saw. His lips tightened into a thin line when he considered the roses. “Yes?”
This had to be Haley’s big brother.
As protective and prickly as she’d said.
Damon immediately liked him. “I’m here to see Haley.”
The brother looked pointedly at his watch. “She’s sleeping and I’m not going to wake her up. Why don’t you come back some other time?”
His tone suggested that Damon not come back at all.
“Could you just ask her, please? Tell her it’s Damon.” He swallowed and knew exactly what to say. “Tell her that I drove all night.”
The brother’s eyes narrowed and he looked Damon up and down again. “Why does that sound important?”
“Because it is.”
The brother closed the door and Damon stepped back to the edge of the porch. That song had been in his head all the way from Brooklyn, feeding his urgency, reminding him of Haley dancing to it in his kitchen. He remembered the scent of her, the feel of her, the giving softness of her, and knew he would never be the same if she didn’t want him anymore.
He was already so much better than he’d been before he met her, but Damon wanted more.
He wanted it all.
With Haley.
The sky brightened a little more but the house behind him remained silent. The door was still closed. He listened to the quiet of the neighborhood, not a siren anywhere close, and watched a flock of birds fly overhead.
He’d missed his chance.
He’d blown it completely.
Damon exhaled as if he’d been kicked in the gut, but he knew when he’d lost, and he knew how to accept it graciously. He started back to the car, wondering what he’d do now.
Go back to New York.
Go back to F5F.
Work out, hard, and pour himself into the business, which was pretty much the only thing he had left.
The prospect felt hollow, which was a shit way to feel about the rest of his life before he was even forty, but there it was.
He opened the car door and chucked the roses onto the passenger seat, feeling more defeated than he had in all his life.
Which was saying something.
“Damon!” The door opened and Haley spilled out of the house, hair flying, shirt undone, feet bare. She was half-dressed and there were circles under her eyes, but she was smiling and she was running toward him and he’d never been so happy to see anyone in his life. He met her halfway and snatched her up to hold her close, burying his nose against her throat and inhaling deeply of her sleepy scent.
She was crying, too. “I didn’t think I’d see you again,” she whispered. “You didn’t return my call.”
“I wasn’t allowed to have my phone.”
“Oh. Oh!”
He kissed her before she could apologize for something that was his own fault.
When he lifted his head, her eyes were shining, although they still brimmed with tears.
“I love you,” he said roughly and her tears spilled. “I had to tell you, even though I didn’t know it soon enough. Or maybe I just didn’t want to admit it soon enough.”
Her smile was radiant. “I love you, too.”
“What about Garrett?”
She made a dismissive gesture. “I was wrong about him.”
“But you took the job.”
Her eyes shone. “Because without you, there was only work. It’s a good job. I like it. Challenging and interesting.”
“Good.”
“How did it go with your therapy?”
“Great. Amazing, actually.” Damon smiled at her. “I can direct the nightmare sometimes, and even when I can’t, it’s not as bad. We did some training with sudden noises and shocks. I feel a lot stronger.” He bent and touched his brow to hers. “I’m not afraid of it anymore.”
Her smile was like a ray of sunshine. “Can I help? Tell me what to do.”
“I have lots of support materials.”
“Good. I like having the facts.” Haley ran her hands over his face, as if she couldn’t believe he was really with her. “You drove all night,” she whispered. “You really drove all night.”
Damon nodded, liking that she was starting to smile. “I did. It was the right thing to do. It was the only thing to do.”
She blushed a little, clearly pleased.
“I never felt like this before, Haley.”
“Me, neither.” She was holding so tightly to his hand that Damon thought his fingers might go numb. He didn’t care.
He bent to whisper in her ear, amazed that he could be so lucky as to have this woman in his life. “I owe you an apology and I need to thank you. That’s long overdue.”
“I like the way you say thank you,” she whispered.
“Yeah. I like it too, but only with you.”
She drew back a little then, clearly delighted, her hands still running over him. “You need something to eat, then a shower...”