Free Fight For You by J. C. Evans Page A

family as anyone bound to me by blood.
    Hell, she’s more precious to me than half the people who share my DNA. Because I chose to love her, because she won my devotion with every act of heart and bravery, from the day she took a punch for me when we were kids, to the day she left me in a hotel to fly back to face her demons alone, determined to spare me the horror of being in that courtroom with her.
    “I love you,” she whispers against my mouth, making my heart cry out with relief so profound it’s painful. “So much.”
    Tears fill my eyes and my arms wrap tighter around her, pulling her over the gearshift and into my lap.
    “I wish I’d been there,” I say as she curls into me, her face tucked into the curve of my neck. “I wish I’d been in the courtroom. I could have testified. I could have convinced them you weren’t the person they were making you out to be.”
    “I doubt it,” Sam says, pressing a kiss to my throat. “And I’m glad you weren’t there. I didn’t want you to see me like that. If I’d known you were listening, it would have made it so much worse.”
    “I know everything. I couldn’t stop reading about it.” I swallow against the lump rising in my throat. “I wish I’d been able to protect you. Or at least been there for you. After.”
    “I didn’t let you be there.” She pulls back, looking at me, her expression vulnerable. “But I’m glad you’re here now. Can you ever forgive me?”
    “I already told you, there’s nothing to forgive.”
    “No, there is,” she insists, eyes shining. “I was so numb. To everything. I knew I missed you, but I didn’t realize how much. If I had, I would have known how badly you were missing me, too.”
    “Missing is a gentle word for it.” I smooth her curls away from her face. “Lost is a better one.”
    “Lost,” she echoes. “Yes.”
    “But now I’ve found you and everything is going to be okay,” I say, cupping her cheek in my hand. “I promise.”
    Our eyes meet and slowly, bit by bit, I see her resistance fade. I see the moment she begins to hope and it makes me feel like someone set butterflies loose in my chest. It isn’t belief, but it’s a start, and it feels like the world is finally on its way to being right again.
    There’s only one thing that could make this moment better.
    “Can I take you surfing now?”
    She laughs, a real Sam laugh, one of the sounds I’ve missed the most in the past year.
    “What?” I ask when she’s still giggling a minute later. “What did I say?”
    “Nothing,” she says, smile still in place. “I was just thinking it would be nice to catch a few waves. Unwind a little after all the crazy back there.”
    “Great minds think alike.” I run my hand up and down her thigh, loving the way the thin fabric makes it feel like I’m touching her bare skin. I don’t have any intentions of rushing things—I’ll wait as long as it takes for her to feel ready for more than a kiss—but it’s so good to be able to touch her without her shying away. “I think we deserve the afternoon off to celebrate. One down, three to go.”
    Worry creeps back into her expression. “Do you really think we’ll be able to pull the rest of it off without getting caught?”
    “I do, but I like to see you worrying about getting caught.”
    She arches a brow, “And why’s that?”
    “Because it means you’re realizing you’ve got a lot of things to look forward to,” I say, squeezing her leg, not missing the way she shivers in response. “Let’s get out of here. I’ve got a staff meeting tonight, but we’ve got plenty of time to hit the break and get back before dinner.”
    “All right,” she says, sliding back into the driver’s seat. She starts the car and shifts into drive, but before she pulls out, she reaches out and threads her fingers through mine. “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    We hold hands all the way back to the cabin and that simple thing is enough to make me feel