Egan! Kade! The mine exploding! The memories had her heart racing. Her body ached all over, and her head pounded. Her jaw throbbed, but she was alive.

She shifted on the mattress and turned to see Kade sleeping in the chair beside the bed, his lean, broad-shouldered frame bent at an uncomfortable angle, his handsome face lined with fatigue, a day’s growth of beard along his jaw. Blood stained his shirtfront, and his hat was gone.

As she studied his hard, masculine profile, Ellie felt a sweep of longing. Love for him washed through her, this man who had risked his life to save her. This man who had come for her, as she had known he would.

The knowledge loosened something inside her. In her heart, she had never doubted him. She had known in every cell of her body that once he discovered she was missing, nothing could keep him away. A feeling she didn’t quite recognize swelled inside her. She realized it was hope.

Kade’s tall frame shifted in the uncomfortable chair. Clearly, he had been there all night, unwilling to leave her alone. His whiskey-brown eyes opened and came to rest on her face.

“Ellie . . .” Sitting up in the chair, he reached over and took hold of her hand. “How are you feelin’, darlin’?”

She raked back her messy auburn curls. “Better than I should, considering.” After the explosion, the ambulance had taken her to the nearest hospital. Kade had followed in his pickup. While she was being treated for the blow Egan had dealt to her head, which included a CT scan, Kade had given the deputies his statement. Sometime later, Ellie had given hers.

Though the concussion didn’t appear to be life-threatening, the doctors had insisted she spend the night for observation. Kade agreed.

Ellie shifted on the bed, trying to sit up a little straighter. Kade leaned over to help, plumping the pillows behind her back.

“The doctor said if I was feeling all right, I could go home today,” she said. “That’s what I want, Kade.”

His gaze ran over her face. It felt like a caress. “That’s what I want too, darlin’. I want you to come back with me to the ranch.”

Her heart squeezed. She wanted that more than anything in the world. Ellie shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It’s the best idea I’ve ever had. I shouldn’t have let you go in the first place.” His hold tightened on her hand. “I love you, honey. I should have told you long before now.”

The hope inside wanted to blossom, but she ruthlessly crushed it down. “I love you too, Kade. You must know that by now.”

His features softened. “I was hoping, but I wasn’t sure.”

“I love you, but sometimes loving someone isn’t enough. You don’t trust me, Kade, and without trust, what we have could never work.”