If someone had walked up to Kennedy last weekend when she’d left Kyle Bones standing by himself in the middle of the dance floor, and told her that she’d be flying across the sky with him in a helicopter, she would have laughed her butt off. Gazing out across the Jackson landscape was breathtaking.

“What do you think?” Kyle asked.

She smiled at him. “The mountains are amazing. I grew up in Montana, but isn’t it funny I don’t remember coming to Jackson? When I moved to Colorado, I thought the mountains were huge, but these mountains …” She could see why they were called Tetons as the tips of them peaked. The trees were beautiful, and she basked in the feel of the air and the smell of pine. “Incredible.”

Kyle nodded. “Yeah, as a Florida guy, the first time I came here last year I fell in love with it.” He pointed to the town. “I’m kind of a geek, and I do the research on the places I love, so here’s the tour guide version. Jackson became incorporated in 1914. It was named after David Edward Jackson, who trapped beaver.”

She grinned at him as she took in the view. “Breathtaking.”

“Yes,” he said, and took her hand.

It was insane how much his hand was already feeling familiar after only two days. Very unnerving, but wonderful. She leaned into him, allowing herself to enjoy this “adventure,” as her roommates would call it. It was interesting, but truthfully, it meant even more that she had her hand in his, that she felt confident leaning into him, that she trusted him.

Ever since the plane ride, when he’d been so frank with her about what a jerk her ex was, her feelings had begun to change. She wasn’t sure if she was comfortable with that or not. Yet here she was, on a trip with a hot millionaire ex-Navy SEAL, and it was awesome.

They flew for about ten minutes before the helicopter descended to a mountain.

“A helicopter pad!” she exclaimed. “We get to land on the top of a mountain on a helicopter pad!”

Kyle laughed. “This is the Jackson Hole Ski Resort. The helo pad is for search and rescue, but I wanted to immerse you in the setting.”

It was incredible to think that he had planned all of this. She blinked and was overwhelmed with emotions about this man. It’s not real. It’s just a trip. At least, that’s what she told herself. But it was sure starting to feel real.

The helicopter landed gently as a feather, and they sat inside while the rotors winded down. It was so stinking cool.

He smiled at her. “Are you ready for a hike and picnic?”

“Yeah!” She did feel like a princess. Like she was dating a royal and she could go anywhere on a helicopter.

They climbed out, keeping their heads low, and Kyle grabbed a backpack she hadn’t seen before.

“What is that?” she shouted over the noise of the helicopter.

He shrugged and shouted back, “I planned ahead!” He winked at her and took her hand to pull her a little farther from the noise. “Let’s get hiking so we can work up an appetite.”

She laughed. “It sounds like you just want to hike so you can eat again.”

Wiggling his eyebrows, he lifted and lowered a shoulder. “I like to eat.”

Intrigued, she followed him down a little trail that wound around the mountain. Everything was green and beautiful, and the weather was just perfect. They were high enough to see for a hundred miles. “I can’t … there’s not words for this kind of beauty.”

Kyle stopped abruptly, and she almost ran into him.

“What?” She laughed at the intense way he was looking at her.

“I was just thinking that you’re the most beautiful thing I have seen for a long time. I’m really glad you agreed to come on this trip.”

Her pulse raced and her mouth went dry. Was he serious? Could Kyle Bones actually be interested in her? There was no explanation for the outlandish way he’d gotten her on this date. There was no reason for any of it. “Why do you want to date me?”

Gently, he reached up and touched the back of his hand to her cheek. “I’ve been trying to date you since I met you, if you hadn’t noticed.”

His simple touch magnified the feelings that had been roiling inside of her since she’d left him standing on the dance floor. Feelings she didn’t know how to handle. “Why? I’m, like, just an ordinary …” She trailed off, trying to describe how she was compared to him.

“Shh. You’re beautiful, talented, and kind.” The side of his lip tugged up. “I think I started falling for you when I first saw you surf, but I really fell for you when I saw you teaching that kid to surf.”

She was uncomfortable. It felt like he could see her, see too much. She pulled back.

“You don’t like that, do you?”

She turned and began to walk quickly down a path.

Kyle hurried after her. “You don’t like taking compliments at all.”

“Don’t pretend you know me,” she snapped at him, trying to put her wall back up.

He took her hand and pulled her to a halt. “Would you just stop for a second?”

Yanking her hand back, she wanted to … to …

He scowled at her in that Navy SEAL way and seemed to take up all the space in front of her, like he expanded or something. “Just wait. I’m trying to get to know you. I can see that’s uncomfortable for you, but don’t run from me. And don’t shut down. That’s not fair.”

“Fair?” She threw up her hand. “What are you talking about? This isn’t anything. This is just a trip.”

He blinked. “Is that …” He turned and clutched a hand into a fist. “Is that all you want? Because I would like to get to know you. I would like that a lot, but if that’s too uncomfortable for you, then yeah, let’s just make this a trip.” He bit off the last word like it was bad-tasting food.

She hesitated. What did she want? It was like all the walls had fallen between them, and she wondered if this man was just as lonely as her. It seemed impossible because he was who he was, but …

“Please, just tell me why you wanted me to come so badly?” she asked, raw and vulnerable. She couldn’t wait a second longer to find out the truth and make sense of her feelings.

The line between his brows furrowed, and he let out a long breath. “The truth?”

“The truth,” she repeated, even as a voice inside yelled at her to stop him before he told her a truth she didn’t want to hear.

Squinting at her, Kyle shrugged. “You’re different. And—” He smiled at her. “—maybe I fell under your spell.”

“Right.” She scoffed, unsure of whether she should be flattered. She didn’t know where he was going with this, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. This was Kyle freaking Bones. Gorgeous women threw themselves at him constantly.

He put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m serious. Not stupid, cookie-cutter insta love or any of that junk. There was just something there, and you can’t deny it.”

“Oh, I can deny it.”

The side of his lip turned up. “Whatever, Dawson. I know you feel it too.”

“Hmph. Why would you say that?”

“Because you kissed me on the plane. That was all you.”

“I knew that was a mistake.” She turned from him.

Gently, he took her hand and pulled her close to him, but didn’t kiss her. Their breath mingled. “No, not a mistake, Dawson. Definitely not a mistake.”

Man, he wanted to kiss her, but he resisted.

She pushed him in the chest. “Let’s hike.”

He relented, and they fell into a rhythm and a comfortable silence.

After a bit, he asked, “So are you going to tell me your story or not?”

“You didn’t hear it already? My roommates usually tell my story before I can. In fact, the whole reason I got an interview on the radio was because of Carrie’s blabbermouthing. She’s the one who entered me into that contest.”

He couldn’t tell if she resented that or not. He waited, then said, “Okay, they told Russell about the crash and about your parents and losing your hand.” Silence reigned, and he wondered if he’d overstepped bounds, but the truth was that this was more than a weekend to him. Somehow, he’d become completely invested in her. “I’m so sorry.”

It took a long time for her to finally answer and meet his eyes. “I had had my license for two weeks, and my parents were both schoolteachers. We had been at a school function where my father had just been awarded teacher of the year, and—the car came out of nowhere. It just …” She shuddered. “There was such a loud crash. There was glass shattering. There was … There was blood, and I was upside down. The car had rolled, and I was pinned.” She lifted her arm with the missing hand. “I lost them.”

Neither of them spoke. After a while, he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.”

She sniffed, but didn’t look at him. “This is probably nothing compared to the things you’ve seen.”

He couldn’t stop himself from taking her hand. “Pain is pain.”

She still didn’t look at him, but she kept her hand in his.

“Pain is pain. It hurts like hell, and it’s usually not fair. That’s the worst kind of pain.” He hesitated, then said, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve woken in the middle of a nightmare, one where I watched a friend get blown up. It’s like it’s the first time, and it’s real, and it’s like a sucker punch to the chest.”

“And you wish you could stop it,” she said quietly.

He nodded. “But nothing stops it.”

“Because it’s not a nightmare.”

“It’s real,” he filled in for her.

She blinked.

“What are you thinking about?” Kyle asked.

She sighed. “I usually never talk about this stuff.”

Kyle gestured to a rock, and they sat. He didn’t try to hold her hand or touch her. He just sat close.

She smiled at him. “The only time I do feel better is when I teach kids how to surf.”

“How many kids do you teach?”

“I teach lessons to the general public, but last year, I had Benjamin’s mom come ask if I would teach him. He was born with only one hand.”

“That’s cool.”

“My boss is trying to sell the surf shop right now. I wish I could buy it and do what you’re doing with Sparring for Vets for disabled kids and surfing.”

Kyle shook his head. “I’m sure that’s not a viable business.”

She frowned. “That’s rude.”

He laughed. “All I mean is that you would need funding like how the Kincaids fund Sparring for Vets.”

Her brow furrowed. “Hmm, so would I have someone buy the shop and run it from there.”

He nodded. “You could. You could run a nonprofit and have people apply.”

“I want to look into that.”

“That would be cool,” he agreed.

For a few moments, neither of them spoke, but it wasn’t uncomfortable silence.

She turned to him. “I’ve wanted to ask you this since breakfast. How can you believe in God when you have clearly lost so much?”

He wasn’t trying to ignore her, but he didn’t quite know how to explain what he was feeling. How he felt about concepts like God. He shrugged. “I know it might not help you, but I believe God has a plan for our lives. Even when it’s hard. Even when we don’t understand it.”

She smiled. “I used to go to church with Mama and Daddy every Sunday. We lived in a small town in Montana. It was a small white church. Christian denomination. I remember the part I loved about going was the music.” She started to hum. Then the most beautiful music he’d ever heard came out of her. “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, to save a wretch, like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I’m free.” Tears misted her eyes.

He wanted to beg her to continue, but he didn’t want to lose the fragile connection between them. “That’s my favorite song,” Kyle said softly, unable to believe she had just sung it so beautifully.

Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Really?”

He felt a lump in his throat. “Really.”

“It was my mama’s favorite song too.” She blinked and frowned. “Now, she’s gone. I lost her. I lost both of them.”

Wishing he could do something, he found himself taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Her eyes fluttered, and tears washed down her cheeks. “A couple of days after their funeral, I remember sitting in the hospital, getting a checkup for what I have left with my grandma before we moved to Colorado. I remember thinking that I deserved to lose my hand, ya know?” She shrugged and bowed her head.

“What are you talking about?”

“My parents were gone, and it was my fault. I deserved to remember that I sent two of the most amazing people to their death.”

“That’s not fair,” he protested.

“It is fair. It’s completely fair, and it’s completely true.” She sighed. “I have a prosthetic that I got my senior year in high school. My grandmother did a lot of contacting people and found an organization that funded them. She always pushed me to wear it, but I just didn’t want to. Even now …”

He didn’t know what to say. “You won’t wear it.”

“It’s not fancy, but I guess I just don’t feel like …”

“You deserve to be normal.”

Her face crumbled into sadness for a second; then she turned away from him.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

She shook her head. “I guess what you’re saying is kind of true, but the stupid thing was that with Evan, my old boyfriend, we were together for nine months, and he never brought up my injury until the end. Until he just said he couldn’t do it.” She let out a harsh laugh. “Later, I wanted to ask him what he had to do. I did everything myself. The sad thing is that I wonder now if I would have worn the prosthetic … maybe he wouldn’t have left.”

Kyle wanted to tell her that all of her feelings were normal, but he didn’t know how to pull it off the way Russell would pull it off.

“Gosh, I sound pathetic, don’t I?”

He took her hand. “You’re not pathetic. I think if you want to wear a prosthetic, then wear it, but if you don’t, don’t.”

Kennedy sighed. “It makes me look pretty normal, but it just doesn’t feel right.”

There was so much Kyle wanted to tell this woman. There was so much he felt for her and so much he hurt for her.

Tears were on her cheeks. “And, right or wrong, I am angry at God. I just wish my parents were here. I need them so much. Every day, I wish I could talk to them and make sure I’m doing it right and that everything is going right. I just want to ask them questions, and I …”

He felt the loss. He felt the pain. “Shh, it’s okay.”

She didn’t move. After a moment, she shrugged off his arm. “I miss them.”

“I know you do. I know. I think of all the guys I wish I could talk to.” He hesitated. “I even think of Cassidy sometimes. Which is …” Dang, had he really just said that? He raked a hand through his hair.

“Cassidy?” She looked confused. “Oh, the woman you were engaged to.”

“Yeah.” Why the hell had he said that? It felt like an admission he shouldn’t have given up.

“Fair’s fair. I want to know about you too.”

He didn’t speak right away.

Gently, she nudged his shoulder. “Hey, it’s my turn to stalk you.” She widened her eyes. “This is my creepy stalker look. Now, tell me about your ex-girlfriend.”

Unable to do anything except laugh, he shook his head. “That was not how I looked at you that first day you said I was a stalker.”

She laughed harder. “It was.”

He liked her laugh. More than anything, he liked seeing her happy. “Fine. Thinking of her every day when we were captured got me home, so when I got home and discovered she wasn’t mine anymore, it did funny things to me.” He hesitated, unsure how much he wanted to share all of this.

“Oh no. You don’t get to shut down either, Bones.”

He grinned, liking how she was calling him out just like he had called her out. “It’s fine. Russell says I’ve been running from it for two years.”

Tentatively, she put her hand on his and squeezed. “How do you run?”

He sighed. “I work. A lot. It’s been amazing to have all this opportunity to expand my gyms, but it’s all I do.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I get it.”

“You do?”

“It’s easier not to think about it. We’re going to see her tonight, aren’t we?”

Dang! He was transparent. “Yes, we most likely will.”

Mischief flashed in her eyes. “And her bigwig football player husband?”

He cringed. “Yes.”

“And you’re nervous. You’re completely nervous.” She snickered. “Cocky Kyle Bones is nervous.”

He shook his head. “Fine. If we’re being vulnerable, yes, I’m a bit nervous. I look at her life, and sometimes I think that should have been my life.”

“Wow.” She let out a breath. “You’re messed up, dude.”

Kyle couldn’t help but chuckle. This woman had fangs. “Never had someone say that so rudely before. Usually, Russell is a bit more diplomatic.”

She laughed and nudged him again.

He laughed, too. Fine, maybe he liked that she wasn’t hesitating about being close to him.

“Like I can say anyone is messed up.” She held up her missing hand. “I just told you I purposefully don’t wear my prosthetic because I feel like I killed my parents.”

The way she said it so plainly made him want to kiss her again. Sure, she was young, and she had some rough edges. But there was something so real about this girl. Something that had been missing from the women he usually dated who hung out at the gym. Gently, he swiped a stray hair out of her eyes. “You’ve mentioned that this seven-year gap is a lot between us, but somehow I get the feeling that age is much more than years with you, Dawson.”

Their gaze held. She looked at his lips, then pulled back. “Maybe.” She wagged a finger at him. “But I want to know more about you. I want your whole story. You mentioned you grew up in foster care.”

Trying to avoid a situation where he would have to share, he flashed her a smile. “Hey, Prince Charming just lives in castles and goes for rides on his horse and slays dragons, right?” He looked away. “No story.”

She frowned at him.

He stood. “Plus, we have to head back and get ready for the ball.”

“Don’t give me that white knight smile. Don’t do that.” The woman didn’t budge, crossing her arms.

He shook his head, in no mood to roll out his sad story. “Nope. We seriously have to get back.”

“You’re not getting off the hook.” She raised an eyebrow. “Maybe not right now, but I want the whole story.”

The truth was that he actually looked forward to her demanding to know more about him. And when was the last time he wanted to share his secrets with a woman? Not since Cassidy.

She stood and gave him a sweeping up-and-down gesture. “I can’t believe you’re nervous for tonight.” She scrunched up her nose. “It’s actually kind of cute.”

“My pain is cute?” He rolled his eyes. “That’s great.” But despite his sarcasm, he didn’t mind that she shifted her focus to him going tonight, instead of on his past.

She shook her head. “Fine. Ya know, I wasn’t looking forward to this whole thing, either. But dang it, Kyle Bones, we’re going to go tonight and we’re going to have fun.”

“Fun?” He didn’t think tonight would be what he would call fun.

She nodded, looking the same way she’d looked out on the beach the other morning. “I will help you not stress about seeing the ex and seeing the ex’s very famous football player.” She tapped her chin. “Is the Kincaid guy cute? He probably is.”

“You’re not helping.”

She laughed. “Kidding. Okay, refocus: we’re going to meet the ex-girlfriend, and I’ll get to see you all dressed up and Prince Charming-ish.”

He grinned at her. “Even though it sounds somewhat awful, it could be the best first date we’ll ever have.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, it’s a first date.”

Feeling like he’d won an MMA fight, he resisted the urge to put his hand in the air and celebrate.

As if sensing his desire to celebrate, she pointed at him and started walking away. “Don’t get cocky, Bones.”