Page 36 of Deserving Ryleigh
“I realized that it wasn’t the fact that she’d tried to kill me that fucked me up so badly. It was that I’d thought she wasitfor me. I loved her. I would’ve done anything for her, given her anything. And when I was away on a mission, I counted the days until I could get back to her. I was a damn good SEAL, cautious but effective at what I did. And I did it forher. I thought we were going to get married, start a family, live happily ever after.
“Her betrayal totally blindsided me. Yes, the knife in my chest sucked. But knowing she’d thrown away the love I showered on her hurt way more.”
“I’m sorry,” Ryleigh said gently.
“It took me a while to bond with the guys. I expected them to throw me under the bus just like Sonja had. I kept them at arm’s length for ages, but eventually they wore me down. Showed me day in and day out that they had my back. It was my idea to install the bunkers,” Tiny admitted. “I wanted a place we could go to be safe.”
“Safe from what?” Ryleigh asked.
“Everything. Guests who flipped out, strangers with guns, wild moose, storms…life.”
“Are there moose in New Mexico?” Ryleigh asked.
For some reason, Tiny thought her question was hilarious. After everything else he’d just told her, she wanted toknow if there were moose in the woods. “Seriously?” he asked, looking over at her.
“Yes! Moose are huge. They could stomp my head in a second flat!” she exclaimed. “I already know about the bears and coyotes and other dangerous wild animals, but moose? No. Justno. I can’t deal with them being out to get me as well.”
Tiny smiled. Then he chuckled. Then he bent over double laughing and couldn’t stop. The thought that this woman was terrified of moose was hysterical. By the time he got himself under control and stood up straight, Ryleigh had her hands on her hips and was glaring at him.
“You’re hysterical,” he told her.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny,” she said with a pout.
“I know, which is why itwasso funny,” Tiny said. Then he reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her toward him. She fell against him with a smalloof.
“I’ll protect you from any rabid moose.”
“Damn straight you will. I expect you to sacrifice yourself and give me time to get away if we see one,” she demanded.
“Deal.”
Then she shocked the shit out of him by reaching a hand up to his face. She ran her thumb over his cheek before spearing her fingers into the hair at the side of his head.
“She was an idiot,” Ryleigh whispered. “Sonja. If I’d ever had someone who cared about me evenhalfas much as you loved her…I would’ve done everything I could to nurture that. To protect it. When you’ve never had anyone who cared if you slept, ate, got bullied at school…believe me, you treasure it all the more.”
Tiny’s heart broke for her. He couldn’t imagine anyonenotloving her. Not for the first time, he wanted ten minutes in a room alone with her father.
“Yeah…so…are therereallymoose in these woods?” she asked in a more normal tone, stepping away from him.
Tiny’s hands itched to pull her back to him, but he resisted. He had a reason for opening up to her as they walked. He wanted to be an open book. She was becoming that important to him. It scared the shit out of him, but for the first time since Sonja’s betrayal, he wanted something with a woman. More than friendship or a single no-strings-attached sexual encounter.
“There’ve been only a dozen or so confirmed sightings of moose in the last decade,” he told her as he put a hand on the small of her back and encouraged her to walk again. “They require cool climates next to streams and rivers.”
“It’s cooler up here in the mountains,” Ryleigh said. “And there are streams and rivers on The Refuge property.”
Tiny grinned. He hadn’t told her that the sightings were mainly in the north central part of the state…right where they were located.
“Well, in all the years I’ve been here, I’ve never seen one.”
“Great, so now you’re due,” Ryleigh said with a sigh.
God, she was adorable. Even when she wasn’t trying to be. They walked for another forty-five minutes before they reached the place Tiny wanted to show her. There were plenty of locations with beautiful views in the area. Places like Table Rock. But he’d come across this area a few years ago when he’d needed a break from the hustle and bustle of The Refuge.
He stepped off the trail, and when he didn’t hear Ryleigh following him, looked back.
She was still standing on the trail, looking unsure.
He walked back to her. “What’s wrong?”
