“Second World War. We liberated the camps and I’ve never seen anything so goddamn horrific before or since. The bodies stacked on top of one another, the women crying… I can’t… I still can’t talk about it. I’ve buried brothers who were just kids themselves, but nothing compares to all the innocents who died. Those children… All these years later, and that’s the one thing that gives me nightmares.”
This strong man fought his emotions as his lips thinned into a mixed expression of anger and pain. His eyes opened and glittered with tears, and I was finally beginning to see his shadows. Maybe Shifter men didn’t allow themselves to feel sorrow or weakness, but it dwelled beneath the surface just as hot and alive as lava beneath a volcano.
I brushed my fingers through his hair. “It’s okay, sweetie. You don’t have talk about it. I understand. Sometimes just knowing something is more meaningful than the details. Maybe war veterans don’t feel like heroes, but you are. It wasn’t even your battle to fight as a Shifter, but you did what you thought was just. That’s admirable. That’s the kind of quality that makes you such a good man.”
His eyes opened and were glittering with pain. I gently touched his hand, realizing my soldier carried his battle scars inside. Maybe words couldn’t comfort a man who suffered from emotional trauma, so all I offered him was a kiss in the palm of his hand. “I can’t begin to imagine all you’ve seen in your life.”
His rich brown eyes settled on mine. “Darkness was all there was until I first saw you. I see a future when we’re together. I feel it in my gut that this is right.”
“I won’t live as long as you will,” I reminded him.
“We can argue about why it won’t work out, or we can make it work. You decide.”
With his lips pressed to my neck, I closed my eyes and let a little more hope back into my life. I wasn’t falling for Reno. I fell for him the day he fixed up my trailer. That’s when I saw the kind of man he was, and it had nothing to do with the things he purchased but rather the sentiment behind his actions. Reno had a generous heart and wanted to take care of a girl without any expectations, just to give her a little piece of happiness in this world. War may have robbed him of his faith in humanity, but he had restored mine.
“Grab your things. I’m taking you home,” he said in a voice that left no doubt.
I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
I placed my mouth against his ear and said in a private voice, “You’re my thing, Reno. My very best thing.”
His arms were everywhere, embracing me and bringing me home. “Wolves mate for life, princess. You up for that?”
“I’m not a wolf.”
“No, you’re not. You’re an angel.” Reno lifted me off the cold tile, securing me in his strong arms as my legs hung down. “Tonight, you’re sleeping in my arms and we’re going to do some spooning. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to have a poster of Billy Joel staring at us.”
A flurry of laughter flew out of my mouth. I kissed the tip of his nose and looked down at him in awe. When he smiled, he looked charming and boyish, and now I knew why Trevor was reminded of the actors he’d seen in the movies. I finally realized that I’d found my storybook romance. Reno didn’t have a white steed or a princely title, but he had my heart.
I’d been so fixated on having a home that I’d never realized how a person could be the very thing I was searching for. Reno was home, and I was finally ready to go.
Chapter 30
“Don’t be nervous, Trevor.” I smiled at him from the passenger side of the car and he glared at me like grim death.
“Easy for you to say, babe.”
We’d been sitting in a parked car in front of Austin’s house for the last five minutes. Two days had elapsed since Reno had brought me home from the motel. While he set up my own room, I found my way into his bed on the first night and declared it our room.
Ours is a better word than mine.
I’d done most of my mourning in the hotel and tried to leave the pain of my old life behind. I knew I’d always carry the guilt of losing my mother, but I’d lost her years ago. I just hadn’t come to terms with that fact. Reno didn’t talk when I cried in the middle of the night, and he filled an emptiness that had been a part of me for so long. I drew strength from him and looked forward to our days together because I knew they’d be filled with laughter.
“I don’t know why you’re so worried. They like you.”
Trevor snorted. “Yeah, I got that warm fuzzy feeling when your boyfriend pounded me in the face.”
What Trevor didn’t know was just how much the Cole brothers respected him. He’d taken a bullet for Reno, and saving their brother is not something they took lightly. I still hadn’t been able to say a thing to him about being a Shifter because of my promise, but Reno told me today that it was time to confront Trevor to see where he stood. I’d spent all afternoon with him at the movies, bookstore, and then wasting hours in a coffee shop eating pastry and talking about life. Just like old times.
“Are we going to live in your car?” I asked.