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likely explained the nightmare. He wasn’t quite sure when it had started.
    When he had crawled out of bed a few minutes before, she had been sound asleep. He had been in the living room looking out the window when he heard her call his name. By the time he had reached the bedroom, she was screaming in terror, thrashing around in bed.
    He buried his face in her hair. He shouldn’t have kissed her. She was obviously traumatized and kissing her did nothing except confuse her and make it more difficult for him to leave.
    He took a deep breath, breathing her in as he lay there, trying to shut out the images playing through his mind and the feel of her in his arms.
    He shouldn’t have kissed her.
    Groaning, he rolled over on his back, urging himself to stand up, thinking that if he didn’t leave now, he’d never leave. Making sure not to wake her, he slipped his arm out from underneath her head and climbed out of the bed.
    He stood there for a moment watching her as she slept, wishing more than anything he could crawl back in the bed and stay there with her.
    Why not? A little voice whispered in his mind. Think of how nice it would be . She was what he wanted, dreamt about, prayed for. She was everything he ever wanted and it would be so nice to pretend she was his for a while.
    He took a step back to the bed but stopped as his mind came up with reasons why staying would be a mistake.
    It wouldn’t work , it said. They were too different. Not enough in common.
    He rubbed his hand down his face as the litany wore on. You’d just be setting yourself up for failure. After all, if it was this difficult leaving her now after a little kiss, just think about how bad it would be if this continued and she’s finally tired of you, and she would eventually grow tired. How could she not. He was nothing and she was everything.
    Why set yourself up to fail? Haven’t you had enough of that? You’re going to turn over a new leaf, remember? Do the right thing from now on, wasn’t it? The right thing is letting her go. She’s only infatuated because she thinks you’re a hero. Because she thinks she needs you to protect her. Once she realizes she safe, she won’t want you around any longer. If you stayed away, she’d find another guy pretty quick. A nice guy. One that can make her happy. Give her a nice normal life.
    Have to be cruel to be kind.
    He had never understood that phrase. In his experience, it was often just a justification to be cruel but . . . this was different.
    Just need to give her some space , the voice whispered.
    He picked his shirt off the chair in the bedroom and walked into the living room. He sat down on the couch, trying his best to convince himself he was doing the right thing for her by leaving. He was still there hours later, when the sound of a car pulling up to the cabin caught his attention.
    By the time he had retrieved his rifle and pulled back the curtain, Brian Shaw was parked and approaching the door. It had been ten years since Jamie had seen the man but he recognized him immediately, even with a knit hat and a scarf covering half his face. You always recognize family , Jamie thought as he wrenched open the door before Brian could knock. “About time you got here. What took you so long?”
    Brian pulled off his hat and gave Jamie a thoroughly disgusted look. “What took me so long?”
    Shushing him, Jamie glanced over his shoulder. “Lower your voice,” he warned, quietly shutting the door.
    Brian’s gaze briefly flickered to the bedroom door before returning to Jamie. He obediently lowered his voice. “Maybe it was the ten car pileup on Western Kentucky Parkway. Maybe it was the fact that two of my colleagues didn’t show up to work and I had to take their shifts. How about the pregnant lady who went into premature labor at the ER? Or maybe it was the kids who fell through the ice. Or I don’t know… how about the freaking blizzard outside and the one back road to this God forsaken place