“More than amazing,” he agreed.
Ally put the movie in the DVD player, chuckling about oral and orgasms, then sat down with a medical journal and thumbed through it while Heath finished washing the dishes. Then they snuggled on the couch to watch the movie. They laughed a lot, though Ally cried when one of the characters was killed. Heath was quiet, sitting with his feet up on the coffee table, with Ally tucked beneath his arm. She felt so comfortable with him she wasn’t embarrassed by her tears. It was as if they’d been cooking dinners and watching movies together forever. Fifi crashed in her bed beside the couch, and as Ally wiped her tears, she noticed Heath’s eyes were suspiciously damp, too. When the movie ended, Heath was uncharacteristically quiet.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Yes. I was just thinking of my father. I forgot about the part of the movie where his friend was killed.” He shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but my father was killed a few years ago during a home invasion, while trying to protect my mother.”
Ally’s heart squeezed. “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.” She pulled her legs up beneath her on the couch and moved closer to him. “Did they catch the person who did it?”
“The police didn’t, but my younger brother Logan did. He’s a private investigator. He’d been tracking the guy when the guy broke into another house, where a woman and her young child were sleeping.” He paused and seemed to be weighing what he was going to say next. When he spoke, his tone was grave, his eyes sad. “The police didn’t act fast enough, but Logan did. He saved them.”
This was what nightmares were made of. She imagined his brother following some crazy man into a house, knowing he had killed his father and blinded his mother, and the rage he must have felt. She could tell that Heath was holding something back, and she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “And the guy?”
“Logan took care of him. Logan’s not a cold-blooded killer, but the guy had a knife to the woman’s throat. He didn’t have a choice but to kill him or the guy might have killed that woman and her child.” He drew in a deep breath, and his brows knitted together. “I haven’t shared that with anyone. I didn’t mean to lay it on you like that.” He scrubbed his hand down his solemn face and pulled her into his arms.
“Heath, that’s awful. And poor Logan, but at least he saved that woman and her child, and now your family knows that guy isn’t lurking around somewhere.”
He pressed her closer to him and nodded against her cheek. “My job is to help people, but if I had been Logan, I would have probably done the same thing.”
She gazed into his eyes and saw a well of sadness. “Your father would be proud of him, and I’m sure he would have been proud of each of you, too, for taking such good care of your mother.”
“Some people go their whole lives trying to gain their parents’ approval. We had it since the day we were born.”
The longing in his voice nearly did her in.
“You all must miss him terribly.”
“We do. Enough time has passed that losing my father has become part of who I am, rather than all-consuming. The first few weeks after he was killed were rough. I was so angry and so worried about my mother. Not only about her safety, but for her emotional state as well. She’s a strong woman, and she tried to put up a good front, refusing to move from our childhood home after our father was killed and assuring us she was okay. How can anyone be okay after losing the person they love most?”
Ally swallowed against the thickening in her throat.
“As time passed, things got easier. My mother really is a remarkable woman. I don’t know how she’s gone through losing the only man she ever loved to a random act of violence and losing her vision, and still she gives more than she’ll ever ask for.” His lips curved in a tentative smile. “She still sees the good all around her, even without sight.” His brows knitted together. “I don’t mean to be so maudlin.”
“Heath, please. I’ve learned more about you in the last ten minutes than in the last two days. Well, not really, but almost.” She pressed her lips to his. “I like that you’re sharing this part of yourself with me. Your dad sounds like he was a wonderful man, and I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to meet him.”
“He would have liked you a lot.” Heath moved to the edge of the couch. “I should get going and let you get some rest.”