SINGLE FATHER SEEKS... Page 14

  She'd left him before he'd roused himself from the bedroom. He'd caught a glimpse of her as she'd pulled out of the driveway. Of the tears streaming down her face. Later he'd found her bedroom stripped and a short note that said she'd called Wife Incorporated and they'd send someone over to help him with the baby in the morning.

  As if she could be so easily replaced.

  With one look at his house and his baby, he knew she wasn't all spying and CIA. Yet he couldn't help the thoughts that plagued him. That he would never be enough for her, that he and his boring life could never replace the intrigue and danger of being an agent. Hadn't he resented leaving his career for Diana? How could he expect that of Ciara?

  He rubbed his face, his throat locking tight. Yet without her in his life, in his arms, it just hurt.

  * * *

  Ciara came around the side of the house and stopped, simply watching her family. She hadn't called, afraid they would shut her out. And she wanted to run, yet forced herself to take steps forward and push open the tall gate. It creaked as it swung and several faces turned toward her. She stepped out from under the shade of the wisteria bush and waited.

  "Sugarbear?" Michael said, moving toward her.

  She nodded.

  From the far side of the yard, a young dark-haired woman shrieked and bolted toward her. Michael swept Ciara up in his arms first and hugged her. The instant he put her down, Cassie threw herself into her arms, sobbing. Ciara fought the tears and failed.

  Then a deep voice said, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

  Cassie let Ciara go and Michael stepped back, eyeing his older brother and not hiding his tears of joy.

  Ciara looked up at Richard. "I'm sorry."

  His expression faltered. They stared, then Richard walked closer and slowly closed his arms around her. "It's okay, Ciara. You're home now. All is forgiven."

  * * *

  "Bryce called me, looking for you," Katherine Davenport said as she handed Ciara the glass of iced tea.

  The glass shook in her hand, ice cubes tinkling. "What did he want?"

  Kat eyed her. "To talk to you."

  She shook her head, setting the tea aside. "I can't see him, Kat. It hurts too much."

  "Better safe than sorry, is that it?"

  "You didn't see the look in his eyes, the disgust. Bryce hates me. And he has good reason."

  "Did leaving the company mean you had to leave your backbone behind?"

  Ciara scowled. "What the heck does that mean?"

  "It means you went after what you wanted when you joined the CIA. Why stop there? Go for what you want now."

  Ciara moved to the large window of Katherine's home that offered a spectacular view of the inter-coastal waterway. "What I want isn't out there, Kat. Not for me. Not anymore."

  "You sure?"

  "Oh yeah. I just wanted peace and quiet and routine. Routine was so nice," she said sadly. "I want carpools and ballet lessons, and … my own babies." She choked. "I had it, Kat. I had it all, but it wasn't really mine to keep. And I'm the only one to blame for destroying it all."

  "I wouldn't say that, darlin'."

  She spun around, her heart slamming against the wall of her chest. Bryce.

  "Is it true you left the agency?"

  She nodded as everything about him came crashing in on her. The deep blue of his eyes, the way his dark hair fell across his forehead. The way he could look at her and make her heart stop.

  "Why?"

  "I couldn't do it anymore. I took one look at the gun and holster and knew that was the old Ciara. That life belonged to the woman who walked in your doors." She took a breath. "Not the woman who walked out of them."

  "I see." Bryce couldn't take his eyes off her. The past week had been horrible, like he was under water, everything muffled, heavy, numbing with cold. Hurting for air. And now he felt as if he'd just shot to the surface. Looking at Ciara, it was like breathing again.

  "I'm so sorry I deceived you, Bryce," she said suddenly. "But it was part of my job, I had—"

  "I know. It took me a while, but I know you were protecting us." He shoved his hands deep into the pocket of his jeans. "I've made some mistakes too, Ciara. The first one was that I didn't know what I had in Hong Kong 'til it was gone."

  Her lips curved with old memory.

  "The second was last week when I pushed you away." He took a step closer and Ciara's breath caught. Several inches from her, he gazed into her eyes and said, "I was a fool."

  "No, you were only—"

  "I was," he said more firmly. "I did what you were so afraid I'd do. The instant I had your trust, I pushed you away. But finding out who you really were made me feel as if you didn't need me. That we were just a job to you."

  "Oh Bryce, no."

  "You're an amazing woman," he said, his gaze drifting over her face, her hair before meeting hers again. "I was afraid I wasn't enough for you. I know what that kind of life is like, how could I offer you more?"

  "You already did. You offered a rope to a drowning woman, a woman so isolated she'd forgotten how to really live and love."

  "I can't give you all that intrigue."

  Hope sprang through her. "I don't want it."

  "All I can offer is me. Painfully normal. Is it enough for you?"

  She nodded, unable to speak for the thick knot crowding her throat.

  He touched her face, sliding his hands into her hair and drawing her close. "I love you, Ciara. I've missed you so much," he said. "I don't care what you did before. I don't care what name you used. I only want it to end with Ashland."

  She covered his hand with her own. "I love you," she whispered fiercely.

  "Then come home with me, baby," he murmured. "Come back to River Bend and marry me."

  Bryce held his breath.

  "Yes," Ciara said on a sigh and tipped her head. "Oh, yes."

  He kissed her, drowning in her taste, her scent, and knowing for the rest of his life he'd never get enough of her. Before she walked into his life, he'd been lost, wandering, until she stepped in and gave him a second chance to do it right.

  He couldn't wait to get started.

  "Hey, someone wants her share," Kat said.

  They parted, stealing another quick kiss before Ciara looked up as Katherine strolled in, Carolina in her arms. The baby took one look at her and shrieked, reaching for Ciara.

  "Mama!" she cried and Kat set her to the floor. Carolina trotted up to her and Ciara scooped her in her arms, hugging their daughter.

  Normal never looked so good, Ciara thought, pulling Bryce close, breathing in his scent, stroking the baby's hair. A glorious peace settled over her and Ciara held tight, thanking God for the chance.

  For a life that was so normal, it was pure heaven.

  * * *

  Epilogue

  « ^

  Five years later

  "Oh an agent would never enter a building like that," Ciara said, pointing to the TV screen and stuffing popcorn in her mouth.

  "Really, mama?" Carolina said and Ciara looked down where her daughter was tucked to her side.

  "Yes, honey. See," she pointed again. "He'd come in from the right side and—"

  "You spoil it for us, you know."

  She looked at Bryce, handing him the bowl of popcorn. "Oh, who spoiled In the Line Of Fire for us last week, huh?"

  Smiling guiltily, he set the bowl aside and crawled into the bed, snuggling his wife into his arms, and running his hands over her rounded belly.

  "That's what you get for being a secret agent," he whispered.

  She tipped her head. "I'd rather be your plain old wife any day."

  "Baby, there is nothing plain about you. Never will be." He kissed her tenderly, his warm hands riding over her belly. He couldn't wait to hold their baby, see Ciara in the child's features.

  "I love you," she whispered.

  He met her gaze. "I love you more." She smiled and settled back against him, Carolina drifting off to sleep beside he
r.

  Bryce sighed back into the mound of pillows and didn't think his life could get any better. He tightened his hold around his family as he thought back, to that one fanciful night ten years ago.

  When destiny collided.

  And that the wild explosion of it was still showering him in a blanket of the sweetest love.

  * * * *