idiotic, foolish girl, falling for a drifter. She knew better. She knew better .
In her gut, she’d known that the man had secrets, and she should have listened to her hunches.
She was just about to break into a jog when she heard her name again. “Scotty!”
The voice was lower but still familiar, and it made her turn. Casper strode down the hallway after her. “Scotty, stop!”
Curiosity glued her in place as Casper caught up.
He blew out a breath, ran his hands through his curly black hair. He had the rugged Christiansen appeal, she’d give him that. He wore the lumberjack look well, and yes, he possessed the same work-wrought muscles, that sense of strength that made Owen immovable in a storm. But Owen was hard-edged and heartbreaking, and a girl lost her mind a little when he held her with that intense gaze.
She needed to get out of this hospital and back to her life, fast.
“Listen. I didn’t mean for all that baggage to come out quite like that. I just want to . . . apologize. I’ve been stressed out and angry and searching for him for four months. And he didn’t exactly leave a trail behind, so no one knew where he was. Mom was frantic, and I guess I’m still too angry at him.”
“For having a baby he didn’t even know about?”
“Yeah . . . okay. Well said. But you know a different Owen than I do. The Owen I knew was angry and selfish and deserved a little ‘come to Jesus.’”
“What he deserved was a brother glad to see him.”
“I am glad to see him —more than you can know. I was nearly sick with relief when I got here and found out you’d been rescued.”
“I could tell by the crying. Someone get me a hankie.”
Casper’s mouth tightened around the edges. “I guess I deserved that.”
“I get being so upset you can’t think straight. My old man is sitting outside in his pickup —has been for the past two hours —because he can’t face the fact that he nearly lost me. So he’s finishing off his second pack of Winstons, trying to figure out how totell me he loves me, which he’ll never be able to do. I get relationships tangled up in love and anger until something spills out that you regret. But the guy you just yelled at isn’t the guy who got your girl pregnant.”
He started to say something, but she held up her hand. “Save it. Instead, let me tell you about the Owen I know. Hardworking. Humble. Kind. Sacrificing. Funny. Self-deprecating. The kind of guy you want on your side. And if you dig back into your past, maybe you’ll find that you know that Owen. Or maybe not. Maybe this is a new Owen. All I know is that the man lying in there is not the man who would shirk his promises. That’s a man who dove into an ocean to save someone he barely knew.”
“So that he could propose to her,” Casper said. “Sounds like he knew you better than barely .”
Oh, she wanted to hit him.
“No. He proposed to me as he lay dying. Because he thought it would help me not despair. Because if he proposed, maybe he could stop me from thinking about the fact that I might die too. So no, he wasn’t trying to have another one-night stand, if that’s what you were insinuating. He was trying to keep me alive.”
Casper closed his mouth and had the decency to look chagrined. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”
“You bet it was, bro.”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt. Owen’s left a lot of girls behind.”
“What are you trying to do? Shock me? Let’s meet again, shall we?” She stuck out her hand. “Scotty McFlynn. Relief skipper, first mate, and the only woman in the entire Bering Sea working full-time on a crab boat. I started when I was sixteen. Me and a crew of guys, working round the clock for a month. Do you thinkI don’t know what they were thinking? What they did the moment the ship docked? I’m not stupid. And in case you think I’m just nice, I’m also a cop. One who, only six months ago, killed a man who happened to be related to me.
In her gut, she’d known that the man had secrets, and she should have listened to her hunches.
She was just about to break into a jog when she heard her name again. “Scotty!”
The voice was lower but still familiar, and it made her turn. Casper strode down the hallway after her. “Scotty, stop!”
Curiosity glued her in place as Casper caught up.
He blew out a breath, ran his hands through his curly black hair. He had the rugged Christiansen appeal, she’d give him that. He wore the lumberjack look well, and yes, he possessed the same work-wrought muscles, that sense of strength that made Owen immovable in a storm. But Owen was hard-edged and heartbreaking, and a girl lost her mind a little when he held her with that intense gaze.
She needed to get out of this hospital and back to her life, fast.
“Listen. I didn’t mean for all that baggage to come out quite like that. I just want to . . . apologize. I’ve been stressed out and angry and searching for him for four months. And he didn’t exactly leave a trail behind, so no one knew where he was. Mom was frantic, and I guess I’m still too angry at him.”
“For having a baby he didn’t even know about?”
“Yeah . . . okay. Well said. But you know a different Owen than I do. The Owen I knew was angry and selfish and deserved a little ‘come to Jesus.’”
“What he deserved was a brother glad to see him.”
“I am glad to see him —more than you can know. I was nearly sick with relief when I got here and found out you’d been rescued.”
“I could tell by the crying. Someone get me a hankie.”
Casper’s mouth tightened around the edges. “I guess I deserved that.”
“I get being so upset you can’t think straight. My old man is sitting outside in his pickup —has been for the past two hours —because he can’t face the fact that he nearly lost me. So he’s finishing off his second pack of Winstons, trying to figure out how totell me he loves me, which he’ll never be able to do. I get relationships tangled up in love and anger until something spills out that you regret. But the guy you just yelled at isn’t the guy who got your girl pregnant.”
He started to say something, but she held up her hand. “Save it. Instead, let me tell you about the Owen I know. Hardworking. Humble. Kind. Sacrificing. Funny. Self-deprecating. The kind of guy you want on your side. And if you dig back into your past, maybe you’ll find that you know that Owen. Or maybe not. Maybe this is a new Owen. All I know is that the man lying in there is not the man who would shirk his promises. That’s a man who dove into an ocean to save someone he barely knew.”
“So that he could propose to her,” Casper said. “Sounds like he knew you better than barely .”
Oh, she wanted to hit him.
“No. He proposed to me as he lay dying. Because he thought it would help me not despair. Because if he proposed, maybe he could stop me from thinking about the fact that I might die too. So no, he wasn’t trying to have another one-night stand, if that’s what you were insinuating. He was trying to keep me alive.”
Casper closed his mouth and had the decency to look chagrined. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”
“You bet it was, bro.”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt. Owen’s left a lot of girls behind.”
“What are you trying to do? Shock me? Let’s meet again, shall we?” She stuck out her hand. “Scotty McFlynn. Relief skipper, first mate, and the only woman in the entire Bering Sea working full-time on a crab boat. I started when I was sixteen. Me and a crew of guys, working round the clock for a month. Do you thinkI don’t know what they were thinking? What they did the moment the ship docked? I’m not stupid. And in case you think I’m just nice, I’m also a cop. One who, only six months ago, killed a man who happened to be related to me.
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