When We Met

“Taryn, you have to trust me,” he said, frustrated, scared and aware of the growing danger.

“You’ll catch me, right?” she asked.

He nodded. As he wondered if he could simply lunge forward and hang on, she pushed against the tree and launched herself toward him. He caught her just as the tree cracked in half and fell into the swirling water.

“He’s got her!” someone yelled. “Pull!”

* * *

TARYN HAD NEVER been so cold her in her life. She couldn’t stop shaking. It didn’t help that her clothes were soaked and muddy. No matter how many blankets people piled on her shoulders, she knew she wasn’t going to get warm until she could get home and step into a hot shower.

People kept coming up to her and asking if she was okay. She nodded, and kept counting heads of the grove. Eight heads, she told herself. All the girls were okay.

Angel stayed close. He, too, was being covered in blankets. He joined her in making sure their grove was all there, then kept his eye on her.

Regan’s parents and Chloe’s mother had already thanked them both about three times. While the adults looked shell-shocked, the girls couldn’t stop talking about their adventure.

“The water rose really fast,” Chloe was saying. “It was cold and we were scared, but Taryn kept us safe and Angel saved us.”

They were all smiles, Taryn thought, knowing she would never forget the horror of turning around and finding the two girls had disappeared. In the second it had taken her to process the information, the stream had turned into a wild river and had risen what felt like twenty feet.

“I can’t wait until next year,” Regan told her folks.

Chloe grinned. “Me, too.”

“I need a drink,” Taryn murmured.

“Me, too.”

Angel put his arm around her and led her to his truck. She started to mention that her car was here, then realized she had lost her bag in the flash flood. It was gone, along with her car keys, her house keys, her driver’s license and credit cards.

She came to a stop. “I can’t get in my house.”

“I’ll get you in.”

“I lost my bag. My wallet.”

“All replaceable.”

He guided her to his SUV. He had his keys tucked in his jeans.

She hesitated before sliding onto the passenger seat. “I’m going to mess up the leather.”

He grabbed her by her upper arms and gave her a slight shake. “You think I care about that?”

The intensity of his expression made her exhale. “Not really.”

“Good. Now get in.”

They drove to his house and collected clothes, then made the quick trip to her place. Angel used lock-pick tools to open her door. It took him about thirty-five seconds.

“I’m impressed and not the least bit surprised,” she said as she dumped the blankets by the door and pulled off her wet and muddy boots. Her ruined socks followed.

Angel closed the front door, dropped his duffel on the floor, then removed his boots and socks. They walked down the hall to the master bath. She turned on the shower. As the water heated, she stripped off her clothes.

She was careful not to look in the mirror. She didn’t want to know how bad it was. She was still shaking and felt a little light-headed. Shock, she thought. Not a huge surprise.

They went into her shower. Until that moment, she’d never appreciated the second showerhead. Now she turned it on so they were both under the hot, steamy spray. Angel reached for the shampoo and poured some in his hands.

He washed her hair, then his own. They rubbed soap on each other’s bodies and cleaned off the mud. Somewhere in the rinsing process, she realized how slick his skin was and how his hands lingered on her breasts.

She turned to face him and saw desire in his eyes. As she reached for him, he stepped close.

“I could have lost you,” he said right before he kissed her.

His tongue tangled with hers. His hands roamed over her body, exciting her wherever he touched. She felt his erection against her belly.

She put her arms around his neck. He lifted her up against the wet, warm tile wall of the shower, then pushed into her. She wrapped her legs around his h*ps and hung on as he filled her over and over again.

He supported her by her butt, his fingers digging into her curves. The hot water flowed over them as heat grew inside her. With each stroke, she was more and more aroused and at the same time conscious of the mountain of emotions coursing through her. Relief, shock, gratitude and terror mixed with sexual need. The combination threatened to overwhelm her. She was close but not sure she could make it over the edge. Not sure she wanted to. Losing control now would be—

Her orgasm claimed her without warning. Pleasure poured through her and she cried out, her voice nearly a scream. Angel continued to fill her, drawing out her release, even as the emotional barriers fell and she began to sob.

He waited until she’d stopped shaking to finish, then lowered her to the floor and held her until the water started to cool.

* * *

ONE CHANGE OF clothes, a quick hair blow-dry, a brandy and a bowl of soup later, Taryn was feeling more like herself. They sat on her sofa, watching HGTV. It was the most normal channel she could think of. It was after midnight, but she wasn’t the least bit sleepy. She was still too wired.

Angel sat next to her, his arm around her, her head on his shoulder. She’d stopped shaking and was starting to feel as though the shock was wearing off.

“Better?” he asked.

“Yeah. I don’t know how you did your military stuff. Going through this much stress, day after day.”

“You get used to it.”

She raised her head and looked at him. “Seriously?”

His gray eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled. “No. You never get used to it. You just get better at faking it.”

“At least I didn’t throw up.”

He chuckled. “I’ve always admired your standards.”

She laughed, then the humor faded. “I’ve never been so scared.”

He took her hand in his. “You were brave and you kept yourself in the game.”

“Now you sound like the boys.”

“I’m serious. You could have freaked out and you didn’t.” His gaze locked with hers. “To be honest, I didn’t think you’d let go of the tree.”

She knew what he meant. “You didn’t think I’d trust you enough.”

“That, too.”

Funny how in that moment she hadn’t thought about her father. She’d understood what was happening and had known she had one chance at escape. So she’d jumped and Angel had caught her.

She knew he would have done the same for everyone, but she liked to think he’d been a little extra worried about her. She snuggled close again. “I want to call Bailey and Regan’s parents in a bit. Check on the girls.”

“Good idea. I can’t believe they went down the trail instead of staying in the parking lot.”

“I know. Regan wanted her bracelet.” She touched her chest. “Just thinking about what happened terrifies me.”

“They could have been killed,” he said flatly.

She felt the tension in his body and had a feeling he was thinking they all could have been killed.

“You’re not going to yell at me for going after them, are you?” she asked.

He kissed her. “No. You did the right thing.”

“We are so going to have a talk about following instructions and being sensible at the next grove meeting.”

“No kidding. We’re also going to talk about how to handle an emergency.” He squeezed her shoulders.

“I have to say, this doesn’t make me want to go camping with the [email protected] guy. I hope he wasn’t expecting to use that campsite.”

Angel chuckled. “You won’t be going there. It’s going to take a long time to get the campground usable again. Even after the water is gone, it’s going to be a mess. Plus, once an area is known for having a flash flood, people are less inclined to want to spend the night.”

“I’m sure Fool’s Gold has other camp areas.”

“You don’t sound thrilled by that fact,” he teased.

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“The groves will want to camp again next year.”

“Goody,” she murmured.

God knows there was plenty of wilderness all around the town. Not that it would matter to her, she thought. She’d helped Angel out with the grove because he was helping her learn to be outdoorsy for a client. Next year she wouldn’t have that.

The realization was unsettling. She liked hanging out with the girls. The meetings were always fun and she enjoyed the various projects. She liked the idea of the grove being together for more than a couple of months. They could come up with a really cool community service project. Not that socializing the puppies wasn’t fun—but next time they could find something that was more involved with life in the town.

Only there wasn’t going to be a next year for her. Not with Angel and his grove. Because there wasn’t going to be a next year for the two of them.

They had both been very clear about their relationship, she thought. Neither of them was looking for more than a temporary involvement. He’d been challenged and she’d been intrigued. They weren’t young and foolish—they weren’t looking to fall in love.

Except she had. Sometime when she hadn’t been paying attention, she’d handed over her heart. Maybe that’s why it had been so easy to trust him to catch her earlier today. She’d had nothing to lose.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded, then drew back enough to see his expression. “I love you. I’m not saying that because of the flood. I realized the truth before you played hero.” She gave him a smile. “This wasn’t part of the rules or what was supposed to happen, but it did. I love you, Angel. I wanted you to know.”

She watched him closely, not sure what she would see on his face. She hoped he realized how significant this was for her. She’d never been in love before—had certainly never said the words. She didn’t expect him to say it back to her in the moment, but maybe he could hint.

Only Angel didn’t look happy at the news. For a second something dark and uncomfortable flashed in his eyes, and then his face went completely blank. It was like staring into a statue.

He shook his head finally. “No,” he said. That was it. Just no.

Her body went cold—only this was so much worse than before. It came from the inside, not the outside, and she knew that she would never feel warm again. She willed herself not to react to his rejection, not to say anything. She wouldn’t beg.

Not when he got up and not when he walked out of her house without saying another word.

She sat on the sofa, HGTV playing in the background. For the second time in less than a couple of hours, Taryn gave in to tears.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

TARYN WALKED OUT of the Fool’s Gold branch of the California Department of Motor Vehicles office and had to admit, there were advantages to living in a small town. She had a temporary license to put in her new wallet until her permanent one was mailed. After she’d dealt with her credit card companies the day before, the DMV office had practically been easy. Except for her favorite Mally lip gloss and her Hello Kitty mirror compact—okay, and her heart—she’d replaced everything she’d lost in the flash flood.

It had been two days. Two days of having people ask if she was doing okay and praising her for her bravery. She’d tried pointing out she hadn’t been brave, but no one wanted to hear that, so she’d stopped trying to explain. On the bright side, recent events meant no one was surprised if she was a little quiet or seemed upset. They assumed she was still dealing with the whole flood thing. Which meant she hadn’t yet had to explain about Angel.

She hadn’t seen him since he’d walked out. Hadn’t heard a word. Not that she’d expected to, but it seemed that her heart was foolish and hopeful. Something of a surprise, she thought as she headed to Jo’s Bar, where she was meeting her friends for lunch.

She smiled at people who greeted her on the street, then walked into Jo’s and saw Dellina, Consuelo and Isabel already waiting. Noelle came in right behind her.

“How are you doing?” Noelle asked as they moved toward the table. “I can’t believe what you went through. It must have been terrifying.”

Her three friends rose and hugged her.

“Are you okay?” they asked together.

Taryn smiled at her friends. “I’m fine. We all made it out okay. I don’t want to repeat the experience, but the Acorns I’ve talked to are all taking it well.”

They sat down.

“Larissa can’t make it to lunch,” Taryn told them. “Jack sent her to a seminar on sports injuries. She’s not a physical therapist, but she keeps up on the latest information in the field.” She grinned.

Jo came and took their drink orders, explained the specials, then went back to the bar.

Isabel nudged Consuelo. “You’re glowing. You know that, right?”

Taryn looked at the petite brunette. Consuelo seemed happy and tanned. Taryn had a feeling there was more going on here than a simple two-week vacation in a tropical paradise.

“Kent and I had a really good time on our honeymoon,” she said with a shy smile. “We really talked about our lives and what we want.”

“A baby?” Noelle asked, her eyebrows raised.

“We talked about it but we decided we’re going to adopt instead. We’re interested in older children. Siblings who don’t want to be split up.”