Warrior's Second Chance

Warrior's Second Chance
Nancy Gideon

Thirty years ago, war claimed the only man Barbara Calvin ever loved. And for her family's honor, for the child Taggart McGee never knew she carried, she married his best friend and abandoned her dreams of a future with Tag.Now, as the killer knew it would, the murder of Barbara's husband brought Tag out of hiding. To bury forever a secret only Tag and he shared, the villain struck once more. With Barbara and their daughter as the lure, Tag's warrior instincts came roaring back to life. Tag was determined to keep this second chance at love from slipping through his fingers….

“The last clear memory I have is of you,” Tag said.

She looked up then, her soft gaze warm with care and optimism, and the words just burst out from the unguarded heart of him.

“I never stopped thinking about you, dreaming about you. Loving you,” he added.

For a moment she didn’t react and he experienced a terrible anguished panic. He was too late.

Then she rose from her cross-legged position and came to him without a word. He stood there, frozen in place, afraid to hope, afraid to breathe. Her palms skimmed up either side of his immobile face, cradling him in that gentle V while she spoke the answer that fed his soul.

“Neither did I.”

Warrior’s Second Chance

Nancy Gideon

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

NANCY GIDEON

Portage, Michigan, author Nancy Gideon has a writing career that is as versatile as the romance market itself. Her books include many genres such as historicals, Regency contemporary and paranormal. She has won a Romantic Times BOOKreviews Career Achievement in Historical Adventure award, is a Holt Medallion winner and a Top Ten Waldenbooks series bestseller. When not working on her latest plot twist at 4:00 a.m. or setting depositions at her full-time job as a legal assistant, she’s cheerleading her sons’ interests in filmmaking and R/C flying, traveling (for research purposes, of course!) and rediscovering the joys of single life. Visit her at: www.TLT.com.

For my friends at MMRWA as proof that perseverance pays off.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Prologue

“Don’t go.”

Her soft plea held the strength to still his breathing as he reached for his jeans.

“I have to. I have to report in tomorrow. I’ve got to pack. Besides,” he cast a quick glance over his shoulder, “we’ve already risked enough by you staying out here so long.”

Fingertips grazed his ribs, effectively stopping his heart, as well. Her voice became softer still. So sweet, but an enticement nonetheless.

“I meant, don’t leave me. Not tonight. Not tomorrow.”

He gulped for air to get his pulse and thought process going again while devouring her with a hungry gaze. The offer was unbelievably tempting. Canada was so close, as close as this, his heart’s desire. And just as impossible to reach. He stood, pulling up his pants in the same strong motion. Those determined movements didn’t give away the wealth of frantic emotions beating him up on the inside. He couldn’t let her know how weak he was when it came to her request. When it came to her, period.

She lay on the swing, his letter sweater hugged to her smooth, silky skin, skin still moist from his hurried kisses. She lifted up on one elbow to watch him readying to leave her. Not for just this night, but for countless nights to come. The tousled spill of her fair hair created an angelic frame for her even paler face. Light from the back porch gleamed along the trail of her tears. He reached out to soothe away one of those glittering tracks. His reply conveyed an unyielding regret.

“Sorry, Barbara. Same answer to both things.”

A heart-savaging smile tried to strengthen the tremble of her lips, making them all the more alluring. Then she spoke with all the honesty in her soul. “I know. But it doesn’t change how I feel. Not about you. Not about us. You can’t blame me for wanting to hold on to you just a little bit longer. What time does your bus leave?” Her words snagged at the end of that question.

“Six o’clock.”

“I’ll be there.”

It was no easier for him to say than it was for her to hear.

“I don’t want you to be.”

Hurt and confusion flooded her eyes, making them into great salty seas in which a man could drown if not careful. He was already treading dangerously deep waters and knew he should just go. To linger only prolonged the inevitable. And hurting her was the last thing he’d ever wanted to do. Especially not tonight.

“Let’s say our goodbyes here,” he urged, eager to restore the tenderness of moments before. “It’ll be better just between the two of us.”

Her smile took a bittersweet twist, catching his meaning with a maturity far beyond her almost seventeen years. “Better than in front of half the town. I don’t care about that.”

“Better than in front of your parents. And I do care.”

“People will think it’s strange if I’m not there to see the three of you off.”