“Who?”
“He was engaged once,” she said with a shrug. “Long story.”
She braced herself for Mick to ask for details when she’d never been clear about some of them herself, but he watched her instead. “At some point you’re going to have to stop blaming yourself.”
“Interesting advice coming from you.”
He smiled, but his eyes still looked sad. She could relate to that.
Mick rounded the side of the truck and opened the passenger door. “This thing might be rusty on the outside, but look how clean it is in here. No old drink cups or wrinkled maps. There’s even repair tape over the cracks in the leather.”
“Sometimes I’d come out here and find Dad sitting in the driver’s seat. He’d tell me that he was working on something in it, but I never saw any tools.”
“A man cave within a man cave,” he said with a grin.
After Mick closed the door and moved to the back of the truck, Rachel wiggled out of her coat.
“Am I the only one who’s getting warm in here?”
“I wouldn’t say I’m overly warm, but those things do a good job.” He pointed to the ceiling-mounted propane heaters. “I turned up the heat when I arrived. I didn’t know how long I’d be waiting for you.”
He rested his coat on a box but left on the sweatshirt over his shirt. “Since you turned down the temperature in the house, and it’s already warm in here, you might want to look through these boxes first.”
She grabbed one of the containers from the center of the room and unfolded the flaps.
“Sorry I didn’t tell you I’d be coming to Dad’s place today,” she said after several minutes of digging through old T-shirts and towels. “I just had some ghosts to face. Memories in every room. That’s why I wanted to do it alone.”
“Well, if you still want me to, I can…”
He gestured to the door, but when she shook her head, he drew his brows together, waiting for her to explain.
“It took me all day yesterday to work up the courage to come this afternoon. I pretend I’m brave with Riley and the twins. And you.” Her gaze shot to his. “But I’m not. I’m a coward.”
“You’re here, aren’t you? Yes, there are things you’ll have to work through regarding your dad, but your brother needs help, and you crave answers, so you’re facing your fears.” He rolled his eyes, chuckling. “Wish I could say the same. I left a whole state to avoid dealing with my own stuff. Now who’s the coward?”
She shook her head, letting her ponytail flip from one shoulder to the other. “I’m not buying that. You walked away from your career after the accident, and you could have stayed away. But people needed you. So, here you are, trying to save Mount Isabel from itself.”
“You make me sound like I flew in under my own power. And please don’t call me—”
“A hero? I know.” She shrugged. “Still, if the cape fits…”
“That isn’t close to the truth. But today isn’t about me. This is about you. And you wanted to spend time here alone to work through some things.” He pulled his coat on again and started for the door. “So I’m going to go. I’ll even drive by a few times to make sure everything’s okay.”
“Wait.”
He opened the door and started through, but then he paused and looked back. “If you need me…” He tapped his phone in his pocket.
“But what if I do…need you?”
He tilted his head and studied her. “What are you saying?”
“I thought I wanted to do this alone. Tobealone. But I don’t want that anymore.” She cleared her throat, the truth right there in her heart and still so difficult to say out loud. “I need you…and I want you to stay.”
Chapter 16
Whether it was her words or the pleading look in her eyes that brought him back inside, Mick wasn’t sure, but he’d passed the threshold and closed the door before he had time to process any of it. He reached her in several long strides, his arms opening and Rachel sliding into the space in what felt like a predestined move. She needed him, and God help him, he longed to be there for her—with her—more than he’d wanted anything in his life.
His mouth covered hers in a kiss that didn’t come close to gentle, but his attempt to pull back, to moderate or even ask permission fell away as she met his lips with something that came closer to desperation than desire. He wasn’t certain whether her request for him to stay had been a plea for support or a sensual invitation, but his mind tangled those two premises into an impossible knot.
