Page 65 of Fire and Rain
“Did you get any sleep?” He carried his plate and coffee mug to the table and sat across from her with Maverick to his left.
“It took me a while to get back to sleep.”
Despite his fatigue, it hadn’t been easy for him to sleep again, either. Sexual tension had gnawed at him, the sensation of holding her against his bare chest imprinted on his brain, her scent in his head. Even now, he felt the pull of her.
“You should have let me make you that hot toddy.” Sean knew only too well what it was like to have nightmares. “Any more dreams?”
She shook her head. “No, thank goodness.”
“I’m glad.” Without thinking, he reached across the table and took her hand. “I can head into town and get you a new phone if you want—a cheap flip phone, just something to use until they’ve caught this guy.”
“Thanks. I would really appreciate that.”
They ate the rest of their breakfast, keeping the conversation light. Then Eden dressed Maverick and set him to play in front of aThomas and FriendsDVD, giving her and Sean uninterrupted time to talk.
She told Sean in greater detail what had happened yesterday. He kept his temper in check but found himself wanting to hunt this bastard down. Not only had this son of a bitch frightened Eden, but he’d seemingly also been part of the drug ring that had gotten Justin and David killed.
“Agent Santee said he doesn’t think prosecutors will be able to charge anyone with Justin’s or David’s deaths because everyone responsible for the explosion died that night. I guess the investigation is just about drug trafficking.”
“It doesn’t really seem fair, does it?” He caressed the back of her hand with his thumb, the contact feeling somehow essential.
She turned her face toward the window, morning sunlight on her skin. “Not really. If the people who died in the explosion were cooking meth to pay off their drug debt to some dealer, doesn’t the dealer bear some guilt? They were probably afraid for their lives and ended up killing themselves—and my husband.”
Sean remembered the three people on the boat, people whose faces he hadn’t quite been able to make out, people who’d almost killed him. “I have a hard time feeling compassion for them. They could have warned us. They might have saved their own lives if they’d been truthful. Instead, Justin and David are gone, and I spent three months recovering.”
Her gaze met his. “I hadn’t thought of that. What if they’d just warned you?”
“We might have handled it differently.” Or maybe it would have been like his recurring nightmare where, no matter what he did, Justin and David always died.
Again and again, they died.
Eden squeezed his hand. “You okay? You just got a far-away look in your eyes.”
He broke eye contact and released her hand. “Sorry. I was just remembering.”
“No, I’m sorry. So much of our time together has been focused on my situation. But you survived an explosion and a helo crash and were badly hurt. I’ve been selfish.”
“No, you haven’t. I’m fine.”
“Are you?”
“Yeah.” He stood, picked up their plates. “Thanks for breakfast. How about I clean up these dishes and we head into town to get that phone?”
She took the plates from him. “How about I do the dishes while you take a shower? Then we can get the phone.”
“Do I reek?” He raised his arm and sniffed beneath it.
Okay, so a shower wasn’t a bad idea.
She laughed. “I just thought you might want one. You came here straight from a long duty shift last night still in your ODUs. There’s a towel hanging in there for you.”
It touched Sean that she’d thought of that. “Thanks, Eden.”
She carried their dishes into the kitchen, giving him a smile that put a hitch in his chest. “I’ll have more coffee ready when you’re out.”
ChapterFourteen
Eden wrestledMaverick into his car seat. “I know you’re hungry, sweetie. We’ll go home now and have some lunch, okay?”
