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  “There was this one time when I was nine and he’d been gone for months. I’d been counting the days until he came home. I’d made one of those paper chains, you know, where you tear off a link every day? And the chain was finally gone.”

  They started walking again. “We got the call that the ship was in sight, so we drove down to the pier. We saw it in the distance, and then the pilot boat went out to meet it. I was so excited, I thought I was going to burst.”

  Her stomach clenched at the memory. And that old dread trickled in, that horrible sense of betrayal. “And then the ship stopped, right at the entrance to the harbor, and it started to turn. I thought that the pilot had told them to, so it could enter the harbor at a better angle, but they’d been called out on another case. They just turned around and left. I didn’t even get to see him. And they were gone for another month.”

  Cade frowned. “Your father couldn’t control that. He was just doing his job.”

  “Exactly. A job he cared more about than me.” Her throat tightened, and she searched his face, praying he would understand. “And that was my biggest wish growing up. To find a man who loved me enough to stay home.”

  She’d thought that man was Cade. He’d swept her away with his intensity, the way he’d made her the center of his thrilling world. And during those amazing months in the cabin, she’d lived the life she’d always dreamed.

  Eventually, she’d discovered the truth, that she hadn’t really enthralled him, or at least not for long. That he did everything with the same high energy, and he thrived on excitement and change.

  And no matter what she did or how hard she tried to please him, she couldn’t hold him down. Adventure lured him away every time.

  Just as it had seduced her father.

  Cade stopped and turned to face her. His eyes blazed, and a red stain inched up his neck. Shocked by his sudden anger, she took an unsteady step back.

  He moved forward, crowding into her space. “So, because I didn’t spend every damned second by your side, you figured I didn’t care?”

  Unease thumped through her chest. “It was worse than that,” she said, her throat dry. “I hardly saw you.”

  “I stayed with you when I could.”

  “Sure, during the off season.”

  “During the summer, too. Every minute I wasn’t working. What more did you expect?”

  That he love her enough to stay with her.

  “Is that how you measured our marriage?” he continued. “By how many minutes I punched on a goddamned time clock?”

  “No, of course not, but-”

  “Hell, you didn’t want a man. You wanted a dog, somebody who’d sit at your feet every night.” He jerked his head toward the leash. “Well, it looks like you got what you wanted.” Looking furious, he turned and strode up the road.

  Her face hot, her stomach balled, she slowly trailed him. Was Cade right? Had she expected too much from him? Had the problem really been her?

  She dragged in a trembling breath. He made her sound so selfish. But was she wrong to want her husband around, to have a loving companion to warm the long nights?

  She lifted her chin. “I don’t think that’s fair. Some men care more about their wives than their careers.”

  He turned back to face her, his jaw rigid. “It’s not a matter of caring. A man has to support his family.”

  “By being gone all the time?”

  “If that’s his job.”

  She shook her head. “Not all men think that way.”

  He scoffed. “Good luck finding one who doesn’t.”

  She looked away. “I already have.”

  “You’re engaged?”

  His incredulity stung. She snapped her eyes back to his. “Is that so hard to believe?”

  His eyes narrowed even more. “What’s hard to believe is that any man would stay on that tight a chain.”

  She flinched as he strode away. Phil was a man, a perfectly nice one. She pictured Phil’s easy face, his laid-back smile. The warm brown eyes that were as comfortable and welcoming as her favorite armchair.

  And about as exciting.

  She scowled. All right, so maybe he wasn’t as thrilling as Cade, but he’d make a great husband, wouldn’t he?

  Still frowning, she tugged on the leash and resumed walking. In any case, she wasn’t looking for excitement this time. She wanted stability. She’d loved Cade passionately, but she’d been lonely without him. And it was far worse when she’d discovered she was pregnant.

  Cade had been out on a fire, of course. And she had been so excited. She couldn’t wait for him to come home so she could tell him the news. So they could celebrate. She was sure he’d quit smokejumping so they could raise their child together, and create the family she’d always desired.

  But instead of coming home, he’d veered off to Alaska. He’d sounded cheerful when he’d called to tell her. Excited. Lightning was striking all over and he’d get plenty of overtime pay.

  And she’d felt hollow, betrayed, as if she were nine years old again and that ship had turned around.

  She’d started cramping that same night.

  Her stomach curled at the memories. The shocking gush of blood. The panic and fear. The terror of lying alone in that starched white hospital bed, her husband a thousand miles away.

  God, she’d been scared. She’d needed Cade desperately, and he’d been off fighting fires. And when she’d left the hospital, no longer pregnant, drowning in depression and grief, she simply couldn’t go on. God forgive her, but she couldn’t make herself go back to that empty apartment. She couldn’t face the loneliness, the sadness. And so she’d left.

  She sighed, unsure how to explain all that. How to tell Cade that he’d had a child, however briefly. And that she couldn’t cope when it died.

  Just then, a plane flew overhead, and she squinted up toward the sky. White wings flashed through the pines and then they were gone.

  Cade waited for her to catch up. “That’s the recon plane. They’ll check for a landing spot, too. With any luck they’ll pick us up soon.”

  Which meant their time together was nearly over. And she still hadn’t told him about the baby. She cleared her throat. “Cade, I need to…”

  Suddenly, a rabbit bounded across the road, flushed from the woods by the plane. It darted across their path in a fleeting zigzag, then disappeared through the trees.

  A blur at her side caught her attention, and she turned her head to look. The dog bolted forward. The leash abruptly tightened and yanked her into the air.

  Unable to catch her balance, she pitched forward. Her knee slammed into the ground, and she lost her grip on the leash. Gravel gouged her palms as she skidded along the road, and then her shoulder smacked the earth, knocking the wind from her lungs. She let out a muffled cry.

  “Oh, hell.” Cade ran over and crouched beside her. “Are you all right?”

  She rolled to her side and groaned. “I’m fine. Just embarrassed.” Of course, the dog would chase the rabbit. “I should have seen that coming. And I can’t believe I dropped the leash.”

  Cade grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet. She rotated her aching shoulder. “I’m just bruised.” But her knee throbbed. She glanced down and grimaced. “So much for my favorite jeans.”

  “Let’s see.” Cade squatted before her. Using his good hand, he parted the torn fabric. His finger stroked the periphery of the scrape, sending chills over her skin. “This doesn’t look good. Can you walk?”

  She bent her knee, felt the pain, and shook it off. “I’m fine.” But her palms stung. She wiped them on her jeans.

  He rose. “Let’s see your hands.”

  “They’re all right.”

  “Jordan…”

  She sighed and held them out. Gravel and dirt were ground into the shredded skin.

  Cade grasped one wrist to hold it steady. “Does it hurt?”

  “No.” She wasn’t lying. The warmth of his strong hand had driven out any pa