All in all, though, it was kind of sweet.
“Quinn, sit.” She patted the bed beside her.
“I don’t want to hurt your leg.”
“You won’t. Please.” She reached out for his hand, and he took it.
Quinn sat, and Miranda saw the fatigue in his rich chocolate eyes. Fatigue and worry and relief.
And love.
Tears sprang to her eyes, but not of pain or sadness.
For the first time since the Butcher had changed the course of her life, she felt truly, wonderfully alive.
She wanted to share it all with Quinn.
His hand reached out and caressed her cheek. She leaned into it and sighed, closing her eyes.
“I love you, Miranda.”
Her eyes opened. She saw him searching for her response. She had been unable to say it before. Not because she hadn’t felt deeply for him, but because she had been afraid. She couldn’t bear losing him a second time, and she didn’t know how she’d be able to work through her resentment and feelings of betrayal.
But the fear was gone, along with her confusion. The past was just that-gone.
“I love you too.” Her voice cracked. “Quinn, I was such a fool. I’d been so hurt all those years ago I never understood what you’d done and why. I don’t know if you were right, but it doesn’t matter anymore. My stubborn pride got in the way. I thought you doubted
“I’m so sorry I hurt you.” Tears glistened in his eyes. “But I never doubted you. I hope you believe me.”
“I believe you. I hurt you too. I said cruel things that I regret.” She paused. It was so hard to open her heart, even to Quinn, whose love for her radiated on his face.
She took a deep breath and asked for what she wanted, what she needed: him.
“Can we get back what we had?”
He leaned forward and kissed her lightly.
“Randy, we can’t go back. We’re not the same people. But-” he kissed her again “-we can move forward.”
Hope blossomed in her heart. But she had to hear him say it. Exactly. “What do you mean? What do you want?”
“I need you. I want you. My life has been empty without you in it. I never fell in love with anyone but you. You’ve always been in my heart. I should have come back earlier, but I ended up being as stubborn as you.” He shook his head and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I thought for sure, after time, you’d call me,” he said. “Maybe yell at me, but in the end you’d tell me you loved me and ask when was I coming to visit.”
“Well, I think it’s pretty well established that we are two very stubborn people.”
He squeezed her hand and held it close to his chest. “Randy, you are incredible. You beat back your demons by sheer will. Every time I watched you, I feared you wouldn’t find your inner strength, that you would let your doubts win. I could only tell you so many times that you were brave and courageous. You had to prove it to yourself.”
He kissed her. Soft, warm, sweet. “And you did.”
“I feared I’d never be able to face the monster who took so much from me.”
Her hand trailed to her covered breasts. Tears sprang to her eyes. She would always be marked, always bear the evidence of a killer on her body.
“Sweetheart, I don’t see the scars. I see you. I know they’re there, just like you do, but they are all on the outside. The scars inside have faded. And I’ll do everything in my power to make sure they never return.”
Her tears spilled over and Quinn wiped them away.
He kissed her, his lips light on hers. She leaned in, wanting more than a feather of a caress. She wanted him, completely and fully. And forever.
He leaned away as if afraid of hurting her.
“Don’t,” she said, pulling him back.
Their lips were inches apart, his eyes locking hers in an intangible embrace. Her breath caught.
“Marry me, Miranda. I love you, and I’m not going to let you walk away this time.”
She nodded, her heart beating fast and sure. “Oh, yes. If you can put up with me.” She tried to laugh, but it was almost a sob. “I can be a little-obsessive about things.” She tried to make light of it, but it was true. When she cared about something, she focused. Hard.
“Only about the things that matter,” Quinn said. “And
“Yes, we do.”
CHAPTER 36
Quinn met Special Agent Colleen Thorne and her current partner, Toby Wilkes, early the next morning, outside Richard Parker’s fishing cabin near Big Sky. The small A-frame had a wraparound deck and view of the lake below.
Though the rain had stopped sometime during the night, the air was heavy and wet, and a gray mist hung low to the ground.
Two deputies had been stationed outside the cabin all night after securing it, and two more had arrived right before Quinn. Introductions were made and Quinn’s phone rang. It was Deputy Zachary, calling in that he was relieving the cops outside Miranda’s lodge. He hung up, and Colleen raised an eyebrow.
“You have a patrol watching the Lodge? Why?”
“Actually, I have more than a patrol. I have one car outside, a deputy in the Lodge, and another outside Miranda’s cabin.”
“You told me Larsen was dead.”
Quinn shifted uncomfortably. Colleen was a facts-and-logic agent, and a damn good one. His concerns were based on feelings. “It’s Delilah Parker. She might be harmless, but…” His voice trailed off. How could he explain the odd sense he had that she knew all along what her brother was up to? “She was his alibi for the rape in Oregon. Until I know why, I’m treating her as a threat.”
“Caution in this case is probably warranted. Ready?” She nodded toward the door.
Quinn broke the seal on the door while Wilkes investigated the grounds.
“How’s Miranda?” Colleen asked.
“Remarkably resilient.”
“Back together?”
He smiled. “The only question is how fast we can make it to the altar.”
Colleen grinned. “I’m glad.”
The cabin had a dark, cold, empty feeling. The main door opened into a large multipurpose room: living area to the left, kitchen and dining to the right. The kitchen door led to the back deck, and two other doors led to a bathroom and large storage room filled with canned food and fishing gear.
The downstairs was bare and utilitarian: sturdy pine furniture with dark coverings; a large round table with six chairs; a corner stove that would easily heat the small cabin.
There was nothing personal downstairs, nothing to suggest anyone had been living here except for a lone coffee mug in the sink. Quinn made a note and bagged it for evidence.
A spiral staircase led to a loft. Though the deputies had already secured the house, Quinn cautiously went upstairs.
At first glance, the room appeared unused. The bed was made, the solitary dresser devoid of personal effects. No clothing littered the floor, and the hamper in the corner was empty.
A window overlooked a small meadow and the slope of a pine-studded mountain. It could have been romantic as a lover’s hideaway.
Under the window was a desk. Simple, with one long, narrow drawer. A wooden chair had been pulled up to the writing area.
