Katie felt Kaiden take her hand. For a moment she thought about pulling it away but instead she left it inside his larger, warm one. His hold made her feel safe. When Nathan left her, Katie thought her last chance at love had gone with him. Finding Kaiden again, despite the circumstances, gave her hope once more. After this mess with Nathan got resolved she definitely wanted to pursue that hope.

Kaiden suddenly dropped her hand. The truck jerked as the tires squealed and Katie flew forward, her seat belt tightening against the side of her neck. She braced herself against the dash as best she could as the back end of the truck swung out and spun them in a complete circle right in the middle of the interstate. Cars swerved around them, drivers honking and offering them the middle finger on their way by.

"Wha… what happened?"

Kaiden hit the gas and started moving forward again as though nothing had happened. "Deer."

"You nearly killed us so you wouldn't hit a deer?"

She could see Kaiden grinning as he stared straight ahead, both hands on the wheel. "I couldn't risk killing one of God's amazing creatures. Not to mention the fact that this truck is nearly brand new and some jerk has already messed up the back bumper."

"Are you kidding me?" Katie snapped as she removed her seatbelt and readjusted it so that it no longer pulled against her so tightly.

"I had everything under control. We're fine."

"Fine? We nearly died!"

"No, we didn't. I am good like that. It is my job to keep people safe."

"Safe. Ha! We just did a three sixty in the middle of Interstate 64. Those other drivers looked pretty angry."

"Who cares about them? We are fine, my truck is fine, and that cute little Bambi is fine also. All is good."

Katie threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "You can be absolutely infuriating."

"I know." Kaiden laughed and Katie cursed him under her breath, using a word she rarely touched but it seemed to fit in this instance.

"Ms. McCoy, I had no idea you felt that way. We should be in Staunton within the hour, shall I look for a hotel?" She could see he grinned even bigger than before.

"Of all the agents in Homeland Security I had to get stuck with you! How did I let myself get talked into this trip?"

"My charm and boyish good looks?"

"I think it had to be your modesty," she tossed back, her anger dissipating as they bantered. It seemed impossible for her to remain annoyed at Kaiden for any length of time, yet she had held a grudge against Nathan for days.

"I am known to be quite understated in certain circles."

"Which circles would those be?"

"You know, the ones where everyone else is married and has a life and I live alone with a goldfish and a couple of snails. Which reminds me—I forgot to the feed the fish before we left. Looks like I will only be living with a couple of snails now."

He tried to mask the sadness in his comment with the joke about the fish but Katie wasn't fooled. Curiosity nearly overwhelmed her. What had happened to his marriage? Maybe she should consider that given the amount of physical attraction between them. What if Kaiden had strange fetishes in the bedroom? Or he could be abusive.

She couldn't imagine him abusing anyone. Especially after he nearly rolled them off the highway trying to avoid a baby deer. Still, she had to know.

"What happened with your ex-wife?"

"What do you mean? We got divorced a few years ago. Irreconcilable differences—just like the papers say."

"What sort of irreconcilable differences? I mean, I know you said she cheated on you…"

"I don't know. What does it matter?" His jaw tensed. She could see a muscle that ran down his neck start to twitch as his knuckles turned white where they grasped the steering wheel.

"It matters to me. It obviously hurt you."

He slapped the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. "She hurt me."

They fell silent except for the quiet tones of a love song on the radio. Kaiden reached over and snapped it off. Katie watched him for a while but he seemed far away. Before she could ask another question he spoke again.

"I told you I thought maybe she cheated on me. Fact of the matter is she couldn't handle the job. When we met, I was an officer in the Coast Guard doing rescue work. I enjoyed it but I wanted more. Something on dry land for starters. Cara wanted an officer and not the law enforcement type. She claimed I abandoned her when I took this job because I was away a lot. I was away a lot more when I was in the Coast Guard. That was only an excuse—she found her new lover and kicked me to the curb."

"It broke your heart, didn't it?"

"Yes. I thought we'd be together forever. I wanted children and a home with a fenced in yard and a damned minivan. I wanted to coach soccer and little league and do all the things my dad never got to do with us."

"I'm so sorry, Kaiden," she spoke softly as she reached over and rubbed the top of his thigh. "I can't imagine what it must have been like. I mean, Nathan and I were never married and it hurt like hell when he left me for someone else. I can't imagine investing my life in someone just to have it all thrown back at me like that."

"Being with a guy like me isn't easy. Law enforcement is a different kind of job. No matter what agency a guy represents there are a lot of sacrifices that his spouse has to make. It's not for the faint of heart as my mom used to say. Logan got lucky, his wife is a cop like him. They take home to work and work to home. It is right for them. My ex couldn't deal with not being the center of attention every minute of every day. I should have been more like my brother. Keegan is determined to stay a bachelor for the rest of his life."

"I forgot you had a brother. You all are twins, right?"

"Yeah. But apparently he is a lot smarter than me. He didn't make the mistakes I've made."

"So, you want to be alone the rest of your life?" She hoped he didn't hear the heavy disappointment she felt.

He reached down and picked up her hand from where she had let it rest on his leg. Pressing his lips against her fingers in a gentle kiss he then replied. "No. That's what makes Keegan different from me. I am willing to put myself out there—with the right woman."

Kaiden didn’t even try to hide his intent. His voice had grown husky, his hold on her hand firm.

The sun began to set, casting an orange-red glow over the cab of the truck. Katie watched the streaks of color paint the evening sky. Neither one of them spoke. Katie had no idea how to reply. She couldn’t deny she felt something for him. She felt like the heroine in one of those romance novels she secretly read late at night. Could she possibly get her own happy ever after?

With Kaiden as the hero in this love story it delighted her to be the maiden in distress. Katie relaxed against the seat, smiling. They didn't speak any more but Kaiden never let go of her hand as they rode off into the sunset.