Rebecca bit her lip. “Actually, no.”
“No?” Kane looked at her in surprise. He, like everyone else, had assumed that it was the perfect job for her. The position would allow her to stay hands-on and oversee a number of helpful local programs. It also had the added benefit of requiring her to remain in and around Pine Ridge, though occasional trips might be required. For the most part, it would ensure that she remained in a safe environment – namely, his – where he and his family looked out for one another. If she really felt the need to travel, he would be right there at her side.
It was yet another reason why he was pulling himself from active combat. With a sat link and a laptop he could be there for his brothers no matter where he was in the world while keeping his croie safe at his side.
“No.” She turned her brown eyes to his. Something was hidden there, some emotion that pulled at his heart and gut strongly, but he couldn’t identify it. He’d thought he’d seen everything in those expressive eyes, learned to read her well, but this was something he hadn’t encountered before. It wasn’t clearly bad nor obviously good, but whatever it was, she felt it with a depth that had the gold flecks in her eyes swirling like a glittery snowstorm. His eyes, questioning, bore into hers until she blinked and added, “I think I’d like to take a little break from ‘active duty’, too, if that’s alright with you.”
Alright with him? Hell, next to her saying “I do” again in front of the whole church, that’s the best thing he’d heard all day. They’d both earned a little time for themselves. To escape to the mountains and not be seen or heard from for several weeks at a time. To have her all to himself, naked and willing with no interruptions or distractions. Oh yeah, that was more than fine with him.
Because he was a man who believed actions truly spoke louder than words, he answered her by kissing her so thoroughly that her eyes rolled back in her head and she had no doubts as to how he really felt about it.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Rebecca.” The familiar voice cut through her Kane-induced fog and had her stiffening immediately. Kane tensed as well, his arms automatically drawing her closer in a protective gesture.
For a few moments feelings of cold dread nearly overwhelmed her, but then she felt the strong arms of her husband around her, felt the heat of his body washing away the cold panic. It dawned on her then, really dawned on her, that she had joined with this wonderful man and she would never have to face anyone or anything alone again.
Including her parents.
With a brief silent prayer of thanks and a request for patience, she forced herself to turn toward the one that had spoken and looked into liquid amber eyes bearing the same golden flecks she and her brother had.
“Dad.” And next to him, the slim, ethereal dark beauty with exotic almond eyes that was always at his side. “Mom.”
Kane stood with her. His hand caressed her back gently, reaffirming his love and support.
“How did you - ”
“I invited them,” Aidan said from behind her.
Rebecca spun gracefully on one foot to look into her brother’s determined face. “Did you now?”
She felt Kane’s fingers flex at her hip, a silent approval of the decidedly Irish lilt she seemed to have acquired, and knew that if she looked, she would see his lips twitching. Clearly all of the time spent with Maggie had had an influence.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us, Rebecca?” her father asked.
“Of course,” Rebecca said, returning her attention to them with a tight smile. “Kane, this is my father, Evan Harrison, and my mother, Dione. Dad, Mom, my husband, Kane Callaghan.”
The men shook hands. Kane inclined his head politely at Rebecca’s mother.
“You look positively radiant, dear,” Dione said, reaching for her daughter’s hands. “Such a beautiful bride.” Rebecca bowed her head, acknowledging the compliment.
“It is an honor to meet the man who has finally captured my daughter’s heart,” Evan Harrison said smoothly. “You must be a brave man indeed. At least it sounds like you are having more luck in talking some sense into her than I have, finally getting her to settle down.”
Rebecca felt Kane bristle at the comment, an extension of the same tension coiling through her own body. There was a slight shift of his weight, and she discreetly squeezed his arm. She appreciated his support, but this was her battle to fight.
Dione smiled apologetically. “Now Evan, this is neither the time nor the place.”
“Forgive me,” Evan said with a hint of frost lacing his voice, his eyes boring holes into Rebecca’s. “I’m afraid spending more than a decade wondering if my daughter was alive has played havoc with my manners.”