“Hunter, why…are you…doing this to me?” she asked haltingly.
He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, the tears on her porcelain cheeks caused a pain to knife through him that threatened to knock him to his knees. He didn’t like talking about the accident, but he had to make her understand why he couldn’t bear the thought of her flying.
“Five years ago I was behind the controls of a helicopter that went down in Central America. It was a mechanical problem and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop the crash from happening. I lost my fiancée and our unborn child that day.” Wrapping his arms around Callie, he pulled her to him. “I can’t and won’t let that happen to you.”
“That’s why you’ve wanted me to ground myself from the day you got here.”
Unable to get words past the cotton lining his throat, he nodded.
Leaning back, she looked up at him. “Why, Hunter? Why can’t you let that happen again?”
“Because I love you, dammit.” Realizing what he’d said, he immediately released her, stepped back and, reaching up, rubbed the tension gathering at the back of his neck. “Whenever you get ready, stop by the hangar and clean out your locker.”
“Are you finished saying what you came here to tell me?”
Fully expecting her to demand that he leave, he started for the door. “Yes.”
“Good.” She walked up to him and stabbed her finger at his chest. “Now you’re going to listen to me.”
“I won’t change my mind.”
Her violet eyes sparkled with anger. “I don’t care. You’ve had your say and I’m going to have mine.”
He guessed it was only fair, but it didn’t make standing there wanting to hold her and knowing he couldn’t any easier. “All right. Make it quick.”
“Number one, I’ll take as long as I want to tell you what I think. And number two, you need to stop being so bossy and learn to listen.” She waved one delicate hand toward the door. “From the minute you walked in here I’ve been trying to tell you something and you wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise.”
“I can’t see that it will make a difference.”
She folded her arms beneath her breasts and tapped her bare foot against the floor. “Why don’t you sit down and hear me out before you start making judgments.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think—”
“Sit!”
Lowering himself into the armchair, he gazed up at her. She was working up a full head of steam and he didn’t think he’d ever seen her look more beautiful. But then, when a man loved a woman the way he loved Callie, there was never a time when she didn’t look beautiful to him.
“If you had let me talk earlier, I could have spared us both a lot of anguish.” Standing in front of him, she propped her hands on her hips. “I was going to tell you that after what happened today, I realized that I no longer want to be a flight nurse. So you can take that termination notice and your severance check and stick them where the sun doesn’t shine.”
Suddenly feeling as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders, he sat up a little straighter in the chair. “You don’t want to fly anymore?”
“No, I don’t.” She placed her hand on her stomach. “What happened today reminded me of what’s important.”
Hunter couldn’t believe the degree of relief coursing through him. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that.”
“And something else.” She began to pace. “What gives you the right to tell me what I should do about our marriage? Did it ever occur to you that I might not want an annulment?”
He couldn’t believe that she might want the same thing he did—to try to make their marriage work. Almost afraid to hope, he asked cautiously, “You don’t?”
“No. An annulment is the last thing I want.” She shook her head. “Although, at the moment I’m questioning my sanity and the reason why I love you, you big lug.”
Hunter couldn’t have stayed in that chair if his life depended on it. Jumping to his feet, he took her into his arms and held her close.
“Thank God!” Giving her a kiss that left them both gasping for breath, when he raised his head, he felt as if his soul had been set free at the love he saw shining in her pretty eyes. “I want to live the rest of my life with you, darlin’.” He placed his palm over her rounded stomach. “And if you’re agreeable, I’d like to be a father to your baby.”
“I’d like that very much.” Tears filled Callie’s eyes as she reached up to touch his lean cheek. When she’d come to Devil’s Fork, she’d had no idea that in running from her past, she’d find her and her son’s future. “You’re a special man, Hunter O’Banyon.”
“I don’t know about that, but I promise I’ll be the best husband and father I can be,” he said, kissing her. “And the first thing I’m going to do for my new family is add a couple of rooms onto the house.” He nibbled tiny kisses to the hollow below her ear. “Or, if you’d like, I can build us a new home with lots of bedrooms for babies, as well as guest rooms for grandmothers to visit.”
“Could we afford something like that?” Shivering with desire, she closed her eyes when Hunter cupped her breast to tease her taut nipple through the fabric of her shirt. “You had to spend a lot of money to get rid of Craig.”
When his hand stilled, she opened her eyes to look at him. “What?”
“There’s something else you don’t know about me,” he said, looking a bit uncomfortable.
“You mortgaged Life Medevac to pay off Craig,” she guessed, hating that he’d put his business in jeopardy for her sake. “Don’t worry, I’m a registered professional nurse. After the baby’s born, I’ll see what jobs are available.”
“That won’t be ne—”
“I promise I’ll make sure the job is on the ground,” she hurriedly reassured him.
“But, darlin’—”
“There might be a traveling nurse’s position with the tricounty health department. At any rate, I’ll be able to help with the loan payments and I can cut a few corners here and—”
His deep chuckle sent a streak of heat straight to her core as he placed his hand over her mouth. “Now which one of us isn’t letting the other get a word in edgewise?”