“‘Alala,” she whispered. “Is it Hector?”
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me. Or she. I don’t know if it’s one bird or two, to tell you the truth. But you can probably figure that out.”
She looked up at him, dumbfounded. “You found Hector?”
“I hope so. But I’m not the expert.”
“Why?”
“Why? I haven’t studied the ‘alala like?—”
“No, why did you find him? Why did you come here?” Right now, for once, she couldn’t care less about the ‘alala. All she wanted was to hear his next words.
“For you. I came for you. Because I love you.”
The pleasure of hearing those words in his husky voice struck her mute with joy.
“I came here a few days ago,” he continued. “The others said you were working on getting back here, but they weren’t sure when you’d be able to. I didn’t want to take a chance on missing you. I decided to stay, and to pass the time I came out here and just…watched. Listened. I thought since you were sidelined because of me, I should take up the cause.” He smiled ruefully. “Actually, I was hoping I could be the hero. Your hero. Find the crow, get the girl, that kind of thing. Are you…did it…am I way off…”
She finally found her voice again. “You’re not off. You’re on. But not because of Hector, because of you. That’s why I love you, even before you found Hector, but I can’t believe you found him!” She couldn’t stop herself any longer, and flung herself into his arms.
35
“Oh thank God.” The relief made Rory’s head spin. He caught her headlong run into his embrace, letting his phone fall to the jungle floor. “I was feeling like an idiot for a minute there.”
“Well, you are an idiot.” She peppered his jaw and cheeks with kisses. “Who else would spend so much time looking for a lost crow? Besides me, I mean.”
“A man in love?” Her kisses felt so good on his face, and her body was life itself in his arms.
“I didn’t know where you were or if I’d ever see you again,” she whispered.
“I had to lay low for a while, thanks to that damn crystal. I knew too much. Lincoln warned me that he couldn’t guarantee my safety if I left the fold.”
She drew back, eyes wide. “Are you still in danger?”
“No. I don’t think so. They’ve all got bigger fish to fry. I wouldn’t be here if I thought I might bring trouble your way again. That’s one reason I stayed away until now.”
Although he didn’t state the other reason, she seemed to understand. “Another being me potentially becoming a marchioness. Don’t worry, that didn’t happen. Unless being the sister-in-law of a marquess counts?”
It took him a moment to work that out. “Your brother married Duncan?”
“Yes, but he didn’t get a title, apparently it doesn’t work that way. Duncan is now the Marquess of Aberdeen and Jamie is just a lucky rich dude who’s blissfully happy and married to him. They’re already working with a surrogate to start a family. My parents are ridiculously happy about the whole thing, so for once I don’t feel a single speck of guilt.”
“Congratulations to the happy couple. So that means no new hunting reserves or fossil fuel exploration?”
“None that I have to feel guilty about. I’m completely free.” Her eyes shone a bright sparkling blue. “I’m free to commit to the things I care about the most. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that before.”
He could see it in her face, a kind of maturity, or a new sense of purpose. “I’m very happy for you. Selfishly, I hope there’s some room in there for a currently unemployed pilot. It won’t be for long, by the way. I have a job that starts soon. I’ll be flying search and rescue with the Hawaii Fire Department. I told them I had to wait until?—”
She stopped him with an excited squeal. “You’re moving to Hawaii?”
“Yes ma’am. Turns out I kind of like it here.” He grinned at her. “The scenery is incredible when you’re not crashing into it.”
She gave a mock-pout. “Please don’t talk about crashing.”
“Why not? It’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Without that crash, what are the chances I would ever have met you? One in a billion?”
That made her laugh. He loved her laugh, that deep chuckle that could have come from the belly of a jolly old man. “About the same chances of you finding Hector after all this time?”
