Dad hadn’t.
But One-Mile sometimes worried he wasn’t any better. He had killed so many, taken their blood and ended their lives. Despite that, Brea, with her pure heart, comforted him, stroking his knuckles as tears ran down her cheeks. He knew she wasn’t crying for Allie or her father. She was crying for him.
Tears stung his eyes, too. He blinked and clenched his jaw and tried not to fucking lose it.
“What happened?”
After he’d cried like a baby? “My grandpa came down. He stayed for a few months, but then he got sick and passed away. I barely managed to drive him back to Wyoming in time. Then…I was alone.”
“You were just a kid.”
“Sixteen. But honestly, I’d been alone most of my life. Allie lost her baby, but she did me a favor. She convinced the courts that she’d been the closest thing I’d had to a mother, and because I was a problem child, they were more than happy to let her take custody of me. But it was just on paper. She moved back in with her parents, and I lived at home off Grandpa’s money until I graduated. When I turned eighteen I sold everything, invested it all, and joined the Marines. You know the rest.”
Then he clutched her hands, terrified he’d see condemnation or disgust in her eyes. Instead, she rose and threw herself against him, pressing her cheek to his chest and wrapping her arms around him as if she meant to heal every one of his hurts with her love and devotion.
One-Mile couldn’t hold back. He enveloped her, relief flooding him until he nearly went weak-kneed—and he lost all sense of composure. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve this woman, but he’d wake up every day and do his best to be worthy of her.
“Pretty girl, don’t cry, especially for me.” He stroked her head. “Your tears hurt too much.”
“Oh, Pierce… I can’t believe how horribly you’ve suffered.”
“It was all a long time ago… It’s okay.”
“It’s not. You’ve suffered ever since I’ve met you. I’m so, so sorry,” she sobbed. “I wish I could take it all away and make it better. I wish—”
“You do, baby. You have from the very moment you let me into your life.” He kissed the top of her head and looked over her, at Jasper.
Compassion softened the man’s kind face. Acceptance filled his eyes that brimmed with tears. “You survived hell, and the fact you did whatever it took to save someone smaller and weaker tells me a lot about who you are. God forgives all. I can’t do any less. You have my blessing…son.” The man swallowed thickly and stuck out his hand. “Take care of her.”
One-Mile’s chest twisted as he shook it. “Yes, sir. Thank you. I will.”
The preacher might never like him, but the man understood that he would love Brea every moment of every day because no other woman would ever have any part of his heart. Jasper knew he would protect her and their children to his dying breath.
For now, that was enough.
Brea raised her head from his chest and looked up at him with big golden eyes full of love. “I want to make the rest of your life so happy.”
“Yeah?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the little box he’d stashed there. Then he opened it to reveal the simple, winking solitaire. “You could do that by marrying me. Still want to?”
He’d never imagined he would ever do something as traditional as get down on one knee to propose, but for Brea he’d go to any lengths to prove how much he loved her.
“Yes.” She nodded furiously as more tears fell. “Yes!”
With his heart soaring, he slid the ring on her finger, brushed the moisture from her cheeks, and pressed a resounding kiss on her lips. “Thank God. I can’t wait. Can we get married on Saturday?”
She laughed. “No, but we will soon. Because I can’t wait, either. There’s nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“You are my life. I love you, pretty girl.”
Epilogue
Monday, January 26
Feeling like he might crawl out of his skin, Zyron paced the reception area of EM Security Management. Thank fuck he was finally home. The last two weeks he’d spent in Speck-on-a-Map, Texas, had been fourteen days too many. The good news: Their mission there was over. Cutter’s wedding to Shealyn West had gone off mostly without a hitch and the creepy-as-fuck cult down the road had been shut down in a hail of yeehaw and gunfire. The bad news: His wholly dependable fellow operator, Josiah Grant, had fallen for Shealyn’s sister, Maggie, gotten the girl, and decided to stay behind. Now the organization had a new guy to break in, the fucking small-town deputy from Maggie’s hometown. Zy snorted. In a team full of SEALs, Green Berets, and other elite warriors, he didn’t see this Rosco P. Coltrane working out. Yeah, Kane Preston had some military experience and he’d seemed all right, but c’mon… At least the hazing would be fun. But the worst news: He was going through withdrawals because he hadn’t seen his sweet confection of female, Tessa Lawrence, since leaving on assignment.