“That must have been awful,” she murmured softly.

His damp skin felt divine against hers.

“It wasn’t great, but I practically disowned her in public. I mean I lived with her, but I was barely ever home. Larry had started a college fund for me that she couldn’t touch. I was working my ass off at school and in the local hardware store, scraping every penny together so I could escape when I was eighteen.”

His muscles rippled as he shifted. “I planned to be an engineer or maybe a conservation biologist, saving the world.” He snorted.

“Instead, you save people.” People like his mother perhaps? Or like the small boy he’d been? She took a sip of her beer and snuggled closer. His arm slipped around her waist and pulled her against him. It was like their bodies needed that connection.

It was getting hot in here now, but she didn’t want to break the spell. She felt boneless even as her exposed skin felt the bite of winter. “How did you get into law enforcement?”

“Local sheriff was a complete dick.”

“Sounds like a great start,” she snickered. Ice was forming in her hair, but she didn’t want to get out yet.

“He was so bad I knew I couldn’t be any worse and the general public deserved better, so I applied to be a State Trooper out of college.” His fingers curled into her waist. Gently but firmly pressing her against him, sending a delicious shiver through her body.

“I did that for a few years and then one of my best friends from high school upped and applied to the FBI. And I figured why the hell not? If Ryan can do it. I can do it. He’s on the Hostage Rescue Team now. We actually get to hang out sometimes.”

“What happened to your mom?”

“I wish I could tell you she got her happy ending.” He ran his other hand over the surface of the water. “She died when I was in college. No one knows exactly what happened. Like I said, sheriff was a dick who couldn’t solve a crime if the bad guy signed the confession in his own blood and put it on his desk. Sheriff called it accidental, and it probably was. She basically drank herself to death, but someone had started supplying her with pills again. I guess whatever cocktail eventually killed her doesn’t matter. Sheriff Talbot locked up a few local dealers so that was something.”

“I’m sorry. That’s so hard.” Darby wanted to hug him close.

“Don’t waste your sympathy on me. I was a terrible son. She was a terrible mother. The best that could be said of the two of us is that we didn’t kill each other.”

He looked down at her then. Held her gaze. “I never want to inflict that kind of unstable environment on my kids.”

“You want kids?” He’d never opened up to her about the sort of life he wanted before.