Alarmed, Gabrielle followed him, but found her son cocooned in a bed of linen shirts and cotton coverlets.“You made a bed for him?”
Cadan stared down at Matthew.“Aye.He slept here many nights.”
Gabrielle shook her head.“I don’t know what to say, Cadan, save thank you for taking such good care of him.”
“I’ve grown quite fond of him.”His eyes met hers, and for the first time since she’d known him, vulnerability burned within them.Followed by an intensity of feeling that forced her to turn aside.
Heart pounding, she moved to the stern windows, staring at the oscillating blue sea.Zada looked up from his sunny spot on the window seat, and Gabrielle scratched his head, surprised at how she’d missed the silly lizard.“What is it you want, Captain?”She kept her tone stern, detached.
She felt rather than heard him slip behind her, his masculine scent swirling about her, his presence cocooning her in warmth, protection, love, fear…a plethora of conflicting emotions.
“I owe you an apology, Gabrielle.I wronged you greatly.I used you and your child for my own greed and revenge.’Twas evil of me.I know that now.”
The words drifted around Gabrielle, refusing to land on her reason, refusing to enter her heart and take residence.For if they did…?
“And how do you know that?”she retorted, keeping her back to him, for she feared what she’d do if she saw sincerity in his gaze.
He heaved a deep sigh.“Let’s just say I’ve come to my senses, I’ve returned to God, my Creator and Redeemer.And He has shown me how ugly both greed and revenge are.”
Was this a trick?A ploy to loosen her restraints, break down her walls?But to what end?She must see for herself.Father, show me the truth,she prayed before she slowly turned around.
Cadan stared at her with eyes bursting with love.“The Lord’s plans are best if we trust Him and follow Him.”
Narrowing her own eyes, she backed away, studying him, his expressions, his stance, the intensity of his gaze.“Captain, I fear Pell has taken over your body.”
He chuckled and reached for her, but she retreated further, her back hitting the bulkhead.“I can hardly believe it.Do you speak the truth?”
He gave a sad smile and nodded.“Finally.Alas, I don’t blame you for not believing me.”
Several minutes passed as the gentle purl of water against the hull serenaded them.A humility she’d never seen before crossed Cadan’s eyes, a humility that could only come from knowing God.“I’m happy for you, Cadan,” she finally said, “for I, too, have turned to the Lord.”She glanced back out the windows.“I realized I never knew Him, yet I blamed Him for all the bad things in my life.”
Approaching, Cadan took one of her hands in his.“Seems we both had much to learn.”
She nodded, smiling, their eyes meeting once again, his searching hers as if he longed to peer into her soul.And oh, how she wanted to grant him entrance, how she wanted to fall against that mighty chest, to melt into his strength, to receive his love.
But just because he claimed to know the Lord didn’t mean he sought marriage or children.Tearing her hand from his, she wandered about the cabin, chest thundering, and blood racing.She should leave before he broke her heart, tore away what remained of her restraint.She stumbled over a pile of tossed garments and bent to pick them up.
His boots thundered over the deck, and before she knew it, he clasped both her hands, removed the garments and tossed them onto his bed.
Sunlight angled in from the windows, waving over the stripes on his back, and she resisted the urge to run her fingers over them, if only to ease his pain.
“So, you forgive Damien?”she asked.
Facing her, his jaw stiffened, and he huffed.“Working on that, but yes, with God’s help.”
Matthew cooed and gurgled from the chest.“Then what of my son?”Though clearly, Cadan harbored no resentment for him, she needed to hear it from his lips.
“He’s but an innocent in all this.What kind of monster would blame a child?”Sincerity, along with shame, clouded his expression as he raked back his hair.
She tore her gaze from his.“Very well.However, if you wish me to continue visiting your cabin, Captain, I do have one request.”
He grinned.“Anything.”
She retrieved a shirt lying atop his bed and handed it to him.“If you please?”
His lips curved in a rakish grin.“Does your attraction mean I have your forgiveness?”
“It has naught to do with it, but you have my forgiveness, nonetheless.”
