Cliff knew not to question how Dylan got his intel, it was about as secret as receiving his own. And it was the truth. He got the call two days ago, but this one would take him overseas for a little less than a year.
“Yep.”
“Also, hear you haven’t responded yet.”
“Also, correct.”
The softness of a woman’s touch brushed against his arm and Cliff looked down to find Sydney’s hand settled there. Her pale skin a stark contrast to his dark and colorful tattoos; even in the darkness, the difference was jarring.
“You miss her. It’s okay to admit it. No one will think any less of you.”
After a deep exhale, Cliff confessed, “I do.”
“I know it was terrible what happened, and I couldn’t believe they wouldn’t let you stay with her at the hospital. I would have been devastated if that happened with Dylan. But trust that she loves and misses you too.”
“It has been over a month.” Putting his fear into words was like a knife through his chest, spearing and twisting with every letter.
“Don’t give up on her yet, Cliff.”
What more could he do? With every frame and wall he added to this house, this house where he dreamt of making a family with her, it was as if he was hammering the nails to his own coffin. Every day without her was one more day of losing himself.
He remembered the pain after his ex-wife died, how he had felt that he was the reason for her death. But this agony of not having Alexis was ten-times worse because he loved her with everything that he was.
“Thanks for stopping by guys. I have an early morning,” he fibbed. He’d be up early, but that was because he’d spend the night counting down every minute in the hopes that he’d see her again.
Cliff watched as Dylan and Sydney drove away then headed inside the cabin. He set up one of the upstairs rooms as his makeshift bedroom. It was the smallest in the house. He couldn’t bear to make the largest bedroom his room yet, even with the blank walls, all he saw was her.
The air was hot and muggy, just as it had been those nights he and Alexis opted to take a swim in the lake as a reprieve from the heat. Cliff plugged in a box fan and opened the windows, letting the warm breeze run over his skin. Lying just under the window, Cliff tilted his head back and counted the stars, making it to about thirty-two thousand before the sun broke through the sky. It was not the first time he’s stayed up the entire night, nor would it be his last.
The relief of the new HVAC system being installed was immediate. The Connelly men were equally as gracious, helping to finish hanging the drywall throughout the house while the servicemen worked on adding the air vents.
“I ordered dinner from Angie’s as a thank you,” Cliff told the group of men nailing in the last ceiling sheetrock.
“Damn, you’re my new best friend,” Brooks joked as he shoved Logan aside to perch over one of the blowing air vents. The HVAC had only been running for about two hours, so the air in the house was still warm, but it was cooling rapidly.
Cliff’s phone alerted him of an incoming vehicle and he told the men that the food was here. A gentle knock on the door sounded and Cliff opened it wide expecting to come face to face with a teenager holding various take out bags, only to stand slack-jawed at a recreation of his photo of Alexis.
“What the-” his question died off as the photo lowered, only to reveal the woman in question holding the image.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.”
Fuck, she looked gorgeous. Her shorter hair tucked neatly behind her ears, and her FBI issued blue shirt and black pants were gone, replaced by a tight black T-shirt and jean shorts.
“Are you really here?” Cliff’s voice cracked from the hoarseness. He had imagined her pulling up to his cabin so many times, but somehow his imagination hadn’t done her any justice.
“I’m really here, to stay, if you’d let me.”
God this woman. Let her? He planned to never let her go again.
Reaching out he pulled her by the back of her head and crushed their lips together, not even the corner of the canvas digging into his abdomen discouraged him from staking his claim. She returned his kiss as eagerly, as if she’d been craving it just as much.
A cough sounded behind Alexis and Cliff and he pulled his lips away, anger spe
wing at the cause of the interruption. The pimply adolescent held up the plastic bags from Angie’s, silently pleading that Cliff spare him his life.
“We’ll just take these inside. You two go. . .catch up,” Dylan explained as he took the bags from the delivery driver and marched them inside, winking at Cliff’s surprise guest along the way.
Alexis took a small step back, Cliff’s hand falling back down by his side as she moved the canvas over to rest on the porch railing.