A new sensation stirred in her belly now. Something in her chest cracked and swelled, filling her to bursting.
Cal was more than an achingly handsome man. More than a cheerful antagonist to her sarcasm and a mood booster when she was discouraged. More than a trustworthy lawman. He was…so much more. His honor and integrity were bone deep. His care and concern were genuine.
He was a man she could feel safe with, trust with her future. Someone she couldallowherselfto love.
Jules stooped to pat the kitten and whispered, “I get it now. Thank you, Joy.” She lifted the cat for a quick kiss on her furry head, then put her down on the bed. “You stay here. I need to go find Cal.”
Cal looked up from his phone where he was texting with Matti, checking on her and young Sam. Jules stood at the door to the family room, her face blotched with red as if she’d been crying again, and her expression as shaken and uncertain as he’d ever seen her. His pulse tripped seeing her this way. Jules was not a timid person. She was brash and bold and confident. What had happened?
“Jules? What’s wrong?” He put his phone down on the end table, and as he started to stand, she rushed to him and sat in his lap, hugging him tightly. She buried her face in his shoulder and drew a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
Cal would have sworn his heart stopped. “About what?”
“Pushing you away. I never meant to hurt you.” She lifted her head then and met his eyes. “I do trust you. Maybe I didn’t at first, but everything you’ve shown me over the past weeks has proven to me that I can trust you.”
He stroked a hand along her cheek and tucked damp hair behind her ear. Her admission did little to quell the uneasy feeling in his gut. He nodded, though, and said, “That’s good. I’m glad.”
“So… I was thinking about why it was so hard to trust you… Before…”
“Well, your frequent disappointments with other law enforce—”
“No. I mean, that was part of it. Yes. But I mean trustingyou. Trusting my feelings for you.”
His muscles tensed, and she put a hand on each of his cheeks. “Love had never been a safe place for me before. Besides Abby, of course. But…my parents didn’t… I was scared to be—”
“Love?” he blurted, and she stilled.
After a few beats, she exhaled and said, “I love you, Cal Colton. And it’s still kinda scary for me. But I do trust you. I do feel safe with you, so I want…”
He waited, holding his breath for her to finish the thought.
“I want to think outside the box for another solution. I want to stay in Red Grove with you. I want a future with you and also a chance to be a chemist. To finish my research and earn my PhD.”
Her green eyes were wide and expectant as she held his gaze. “Maybe I can do that at UND here in Red Grove?”
He couldn’t contain the smile that rose from deep inside him. “I hear good things about their science department.”
“That’s what your mom said.”
He jerked his chin back. “My mom?”
Jules lifted a corner of her mouth. “Yeah. I’ve never had the kind of mother I could have a heart-to-heart with like that. It was…really nice.”
“So then, you’re staying?”
“If you’ll have me.”
He laughed. “You have to ask? Jules, I will have you today, tomorrow and forever. I love you.”
Her hesitant expression melted away, replaced by a smile that reflected pure joy. “Good. Because I love you, too. So…you’re stuck with me.”
Epilogue
Later that autumn
“Novel Process for Photocata— Huh?”
Jules glanced up at Cal, whose expression looked pained as he puzzled out the title of the paper she was preparing to submit for publication. “Novel Process for Photocatalytically Induced Nickel-boron Transmetallation,” she said. Turning up an inviting hand, she flashed a teasing smile. “You’re welcome to read it, if you want. I could use another pair of eyes on it, to proofread.”
