Free The Edge of Heaven by TERESA HILL Page B

sense?
    It felt like one big sign clicking irrevocably into place, and he found that the closer he thought he was coming to answers, the more afraid he was of what he was going to find.
    This seemed like too odd a coincidence to ignore. It made him want to hope. It made him want to think the man he was looking for was right here. Or at least, he would be in a day or two.
    Don't do this, he told himself. Don't.
    "What?" Emma asked.
    "Nothing," he lied.
    But she knew it wasn't.
    She still had that look on her face, like someone who understood. Someone who could see right through him. What would that be like? Having someone who saw it all and somehow understood?
    He didn't know what to do or what to say. He felt like something inside of him was just crumbling, piles of rubble falling down and lying in ruins. He felt vulnerable in a way he simply hated, open and completely without any kind of defenses, and he wanted to reach for her and just hang on.
    He had the most absurd notion about leaning on her, not just in a physical way but an emotional one. That beneath that slender build of hers, beneath the fear and the tears, beneath the bruise that now had the power to make him murderously angry, she was a very strong woman.
    She had old eyes, he realized. As young as she was, she looked out at the world with eyes that had seen too much. He thought as much as he would be staying here to help her and to keep her safe, she was likely going to help him, as well, if he could find the courage to let her in just a little bit.
    She'd said everybody needed somebody, and he sure seemed to need her. It was Christmas. He'd been so sure he was in the wrong place once again, and there just weren't that many more names on his list. But now, he thought maybe he was in the right place after all.
    He'd never understood how frightening that would be.
    He stood there thinking, Hold me, Emma. Don't let me fall.
    She slipped her arm through his and with great trepidation, he turned to face her. She put her other hand to the side of his face and smiled up at him through those old eyes of hers, now wet with tears.
    "If you think you've cornered the market on hard times, think again," she said. "We've all been there. Whatever it is you've been through, we'll understand."
    He caught her hand and held it against the side of his face. She'd taken off her gloves and it was cold, and he wanted to warm it, wanted not to have to give up the kindness of her touch just yet.
    And then he leaned down and sought the comfort of her mouth, ever so softly, thinking the woman had a way of reaching right down to his soul in ways he just didn't understand. She dug down inside of him, finding things he didn't want anyone to find, and giving back things he didn't quite understand in return.
    He just knew that whatever it was she offered, he needed.
    So he kissed her cold lips, soaking up the strength, the kindness, and the comfort of her, things he'd never sought from a woman before, things she gave so generously.
    Emma, he thought. Quiet kisses and soft hands, old eyes and a seductively gentle touch.
    Letting her go was one of the hardest things he ever did. Pulling his mouth from hers, drawing his body away. Life was just too hard some days.
    And if he had found the right Sam McRae... This was Sam's daughter.
    "Emma, I..." He had no idea what to say. "What is this?"
    "I told you. I like you. And you like me, too. It's not really that complicated, is it?"
    He held her with his hands on her upper arms, telling himself it was because he had to hold her away from him, but maybe it was because he simply couldn't let go.
    He cupped her poor bruised cheek in his hand and ran his thumb over her lower lip. She made him want so much on so many different levels he couldn't even quantify it. He seemed to want her in absolutely all ways, all at the same time. It was bewildering, surprising, even frightening.
    "Yes," he insisted. "It is."
    "Why? You don't like women?"
    "I like women just