Dancing in the Moonlight - Harlequin.com

176 DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT
behind the whole thing. I was only charged with delivering
you here at the appointed hour.”
He pulled up in the parking space set aside for her
and walked around the SUV to help her out. When he
saw the jumbled mix of emotions in her eyes, he paused
in the open door of the Durango and shifted to block her
from the crowd’s view.
“I don’t want this, Jake.” The distress in her voice
matched her eyes. “I’m not some kind of hero. I can’t
go out there and pretend otherwise. I’m a mess. You
know I am. Physically, emotionally, all of it.”
He grabbed her hands and held them tight. “You
don’t see yourself as we all do, sweetheart. This town
is bursting with pride for you.”
“For what? I returned a cripple! Everyone can see
that. I can’t even take a damn shower without it turning
into a major production!”
“Maggie—”
“I didn’t come home to be embraced and applauded
by my hometown. I came to Pine Gulch to hide away
from life, because I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
Her eyes glittered, and he hoped like hell she didn’t
start to cry. He knew she would hate that more than
anything, to break down in front of the whole town.
A heavy weight of responsibility settled on his shoulders.
He knew whatever he said was of vital importance,
and he tried to choose his words with the utmost care.
“You can say what you want, but I don’t believe you
came home because you had nowhere else,” he said
quietly. “You came home because you knew this was
where you belonged, a place where you knew you