“But I didn’twantto kill him.” His voice cracked against a sharp edge. “I just wanted…”
“I know.” She took comfort in the warmth of his skin against her palms, the delicious abrasion of his stubble. “You wanted to saveeveryone, including the men who came here to rob you blind andworse. I know you heard them. They were going to wait to see if they could escape on their boat, and then they were going to kill us all.”
“He had afamily, Cami. A wife and kids. I took him from them with my bad aim.”
“He tookhimselffrom them when he decided to come here.” She shook his face slightly, forcing him to look at her so he could see the truth in her eyes. “You’re not the bad guy in this story, Dalton. You’re thehero.”
“I don’t feel very heroic. All I feel is…tired.” As if to prove his point, he squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m so damn tired, Cami.”
The problem solver in her kicked into high gear. “Finish washing up then, and let’s go lie down. You were up with the sun and have been going balls to the wall ever since. Plus, your head has got to be killing you.”
“No. Not that kind of tired. This is the kind of tired that doesn’t go away with rest. The kind of tired that stays in your bones.” He let his head fall back and she got distracted by his Adam’s apple. Then he straightened, caught her worried gaze, and added, “I’m tired of death. I’m tired of not being able to escape it.”
She wasn’t sure how she knew he was thinking of his wife. Maybe it was the tenor of his voice. Maybe it was the way his soapy fingers shook as they dangled over the edge of the tub. Or maybe it was the devastation in his eyes.
It made sense. One death inevitably brought up memories of others. And for Doc, the death of his wife was the greatest of all the losses he’d suffered.
She took a deep breath. And when she spoke, she did so slowly, choosing her words carefully. “Youcan’tescape death, Dalton. None of us can. There’s no life without death. They’re two sides of the same coin. Two sides of the sameexperience. Inexorably linked. Like day and night.”
His nostrils flared again and she watched him fight to hold back the tears that gathered in his beautiful eyes.
How could she ever have thought to deny her love for this man? This strong, courageous,gentleman?
“Is it the lawyer thing?”
Her brow wrinkled. “Iswhatthe lawyer thing?”
“Your way with words. Do they teach you that in law school? To be able to lay out an argument that sounds indisputable?”
Some of the anguish had gone from his voice. She took that as a positive sign.
“Theytryto teach it in law school.” She donned a haughty expression. “But I’m not sure it can actuallybetaught. I think some of us are justbornpersuasive.” She winked, hoping to diminish his sadness further.
When the corners of his mouth tilted up, she wanted to howl in victory. There was nothing as awful as watching the man she loved suffer, and nothing as gratifying as knowing she was able to put a smile back on his face.
“Guess there’s no more denying it then.” His sigh was windy. “You were born to be a lawyer.”
She wagged a finger. “Ah, ah, ah. Don’t say that like it’s a bad thing or else you’ll have to explain why you feel such animosity toward my profession. Remember our deal?”
He gave her the side-eye.
Good god, he has such long, lovely eyelashes.They were blond at the tips, so it was only when they glinted in the candlelight that she could appreciate their full length.
“I don’t remember us striking a deal. The way I recall it, you threw down an ultimatum.”
She gave another dismissive shrug. “Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe.”
He chuckled, and the sound was music to her ears. All too soon, however, he sobered and turned back to rinse and dry his hands. All the levity was gone from his voice when he said, “The drunk driver who killed Lily? He was a lawyer.”
“Ah.” That one word was out of her before she realized she’d even opened her mouth. She wasn’t sure if it was an expression ofah-haorah-fuck.
Maybe it was both.
“Lily and I were living in Baltimore at the time. She’d gotten a job teaching kindergarten while I finished my residency. The man who killed her, Curtis Rienhardt, was the state’s attorney there. He was friends with a lot of lawyers and a lot of judges in high places.”
“And let me guess.” Her voice was hoarse because her heart had jumped into her throat. “He pulled some strings and got a reduced sentence?”
“Not even that.” He shook his head, the candlelight making his lion’s mane look more gold than brown. “He and his attorney buddies brokered a deal with a judge who agreed to give him a slap on the wrist. He got behind the wheel of a vehicle when he was too drunk to walk, jumped the median and killed my Lily, and the only consequence he suffered for taking her life was a fine and three years’ probation.”
