Delicate Promises (Southern Bride 2)

When he leaned forward and put his arms on his legs, I was mesmerized by him.

I became instantly jealous of all the women who had touched him over the past twelve years. Who’d had his attention and his focus when he was on whatever mission the government and CIA sent him on.

“Kynslee, we need to get married.”

When my knees felt weaken, I slowly sat down. “What do you mean, we need to get married?”

He shrugged. “Well, we’re not getting any younger and we have to start planning for kids.”

I stared at him, trying to get these silly emotions running through me under control. Kids? He wanted kids?

Holy hell, keep it together, Kynslee.

I glanced down at my hands wringing in my lap, then pressed them flat on my thighs. “I see. You need to get married so you can start pumping out offspring, and any ol’ person will do. So, you decided now’s the time for your ass to show back up on my doorstep to cash in on an old promise. And that I’m stupid enough to fall at your feet and welcome your attention when you haven’t bothered with me for over a decade. Is having a wife some sort of cover you need for the CIA?”

He laughed. “No. I’m home now, for good. I told you that.”

So Miles wanted to come home and play house. I looked at him, praying he would give me something else. Anything that said he cared about me, loved me, that he had made the biggest mistake in his life when he pushed me into Jack’s arms. If he could just do that, I knew I would fall for him. As stupid as it was, I needed him to say it.

I smiled because if I didn’t I would cry. “It appears I only have two words to say to you.”

He smiled like he honestly thought he’d won this battle. “I do.”

I walked to the front door and said the only two words that were fitting in this moment. “Fuck you.”

Miles

LIFTING A HAY bale, I tossed it onto the trailer. Rich paused and looked at me.

“You showed up out of the blue and said you were cashing in on the promise. Then you said y’all weren’t getting any younger and needed to plan for kids. What did you expect her to do with that declaration, Miles? Fall into your arms and say yes?”

“Maybe not fall into my arms, but I wasn’t thinking she would knee me in the balls.”

Rich laughed, and I shot him a dirty look.

“I believe you also said she punched you.”

I rubbed my jaw and smiled. “She’s always had a good right hook.”

“That’s because you taught her how to punch, dumbass.”

Punching wasn’t the only thing I’d taught Kynslee. The first night we had slept together, the night we lost our virginity to one another, we had both acted like we were drunk, but both of us knew what we were doing. She had ruined all women for me at sixteen years old.

“Dude, whatever you’re thinking, please stop.”

Laughing, I grabbed another hay bale.

“Did you tell her about the special ops stuff? I felt sort of bad that she and Mom never knew.”

I had told Rich I was signing up for another five years in the Marines to work on a special mission. He hadn’t needed to know it was with the CIA, and I gave him enough details so that he knew it was a pretty big deal. My mother had been so upset when I told her, and I needed someone to know the truth, or at least a version of the truth, at least. Rich got it, but I could tell he felt guilty. Like I was burdening myself with reenlisting to erase our money worries. It was worth it, though. All sixty months of it.

“Yeah, I told her. It was better they didn’t know at the time. You know they both would have just worried even more.”

Rich grabbed a bale and threw it. We worked in silence before he finally said what was on his mind. “Why can’t you just tell her the truth? Tell her why you pushed her away? Tell her you love her, Miles.”

I stopped what I was doing and stared at him. Rich knew all my dirty little secrets. All of them. “What?”

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he sighed. “Miles, admit to her you love her and wanted a future with her, but you were scared. Scared to burden her with your missions, leaving her here in Hunt not knowing where you were or when you’d be coming home.”

Rolling my head, I cracked my neck and blew out a breath. “I wasn’t scared.”

He laughed. “Bullshit, dude. You freaked. It’s okay. You remember the day of my wedding when I freaked. I was ready to bolt out the door and you calmed me down.”