She held his gaze for several more seconds. If he asked her to stay one last time, would she? Would he dare? And would she dare in return?
He lifted a hand toward her face, as though he intended to caress her cheek.
She held her breath, suddenly aching for him and his touch, uncertain how she’d survive another minute, much less a lifetime, without it.
But in the next instant, he dropped his hand and took a step back. “Take care, Kinsey.”
She nodded, unable to get her voice working, afraid if she spoke, it would tremble.
He closed the door. Then with his usual long stride, he walked toward the stairs and began to descend…all without a single look back.
A moment later, when the helicopter rose, she couldn’t keep from peering out the window, hoping for a glimpse of him. The ranch sprawled out for acres—the guest homes, the barn and corral, the lodge with the magnificent dining room, the ropes course, and even the hot springs with the elegant pools and bathhouse.
Her time there had been too busy to experience all the luxuries and adventures the ranch offered, but she’d gotten to take part in much more than she’d ever thought she would. The McQuaids had welcomed her in like she was one of their family and had made her feel at home.
Home.
Even though she still had her bedroom at her childhood house where her mom lived, she didn’t belong there anymore. She hadn’t since Madison had died and her parents had split. Was that because a house wasn’t really a home without the love of a family to make it that way? Was that why the McQuaids’ ranch had such a homey feel to it? Because they loved one another so deeply?
Her thoughts swirled in rhythm with the chopper blades. Was she missing out on love because she kept her relationships shallow? Tyler had accused her of doing so, of moving on so that she didn’t get attached. He’d even brought up losing Madison as if that explained everything.
Kinsey pressed her fingers to her temples to ease the ache from the tiredness and sorrow of leaving someone else. Had she kept herself from getting close to people because of how much it had hurt to lose Madison?
Of course, she’d always known she wanted to be a nurse, ever since Madison’s first time struggling through RSV. Kinsey’d had her toy stethoscope and toy blood pressure cuff and had pretended to help her sister during the entire time she’d struggled to get better.
But she’d never planned to be a traveling nurse. Not until after Madison had died. The desire to do so might have been altruistic, might have been inspired by seeing how much Pippa liked being a traveling nurse. Yet, at the time, Kinsey had been ready to get away from the painful memories and to escape from the bitterness of her parents’ divorce.
Had she been running away from the pain ever since?
Maybe Tyler was right. Maybe that was why she kept on accepting new traveling nurse positions—because then she never got too attached to anyone. She could leave before the bonds became too close…like they’d become with the McQuaids.
If only she’d made plans to go when she’d first started falling in love with Tyler…
The whirring in her head came to an abrupt halt.
First started falling in love? She hadn’t fallen in love with Tyler, had she?
Her mind replayed all the moments she’d had with him since she’d arrived at Healing Springs Ranch—the good ones as well as the challenging ones. With every memory that rolled through her head, her heart ached even more.
By the time the helicopter touched down at the airport, her heart felt as though it had been ripped into shreds and scattered over the bottom of her chest.
As the blades and engine silenced, Kade didn’t move from his seat. Instead, he sat quietly, drumming his fingers on his thigh.
She couldn’t make herself move either, almost as if she were paralyzed.
Kade finally shifted in his pilot’s seat so that he was looking at her. “You’re making a mistake in leaving him.”
She didn’t have to ask whohimwas to know Kade was referring to Tyler.
Kade’s dark-brown eyes, so much like Tyler’s, were filled with determination. “You know about the McQuaid legacy of love, don’t you?”
“No.”
“It’s said of the McQuaid men that when they fall in love, there’s no going back. It’s fast, furious, and forever.”
“Did Tyler tell you that he loves me?” Did his whole family know?
Kade’s lips quirked up on one side in a sad grin. “Tyler didn’t have to say a single word for all of us to see that he fell fast and furious and forever.”
