Whispers of You (Lost & Found, #1)

by Catherine Cowles

I cupped Wren’s face, my thumb sweeping back and forth across her cheek. “Never stopped loving you. Not for a single second.”

Promises she worried I’d never be able to keep. Maybe she wasn’t ready to hear them out loud, but I’d give them to her silently. Inaudible prayers lifted into the air. And I’d give her actions—the strongest words of all.

“I’m not the only one being spoiled, I see.” “Gotta work on both my girls.”

I would still be here. And sooner or later, she would believe that forever was just a lifetime of a little whiles.

“Sometimes, the world doesn’t have the right to your feelings. It doesn’t mean you’re hiding. Just that some emotions are only for the people you trust most.”

“Not going to pretend I’m not in love with you, Wren. Missed touching you. Sometimes, I’d be walking and swear I felt your hand in mine.”

“Holy shit.” Nash let out a hoot from the couch. “It’s a Christmas miracle in the middle of spring.”

“I didn’t leave because things were hard. I left because I thought I didn’t deserve her. That she needed someone better.”

As soon as I was within arm’s reach, Holt took the bag from my shoulder. He leaned in to give me a quick kiss. “Good day?”

When life hit hard, you were the only person I wanted, the only place I wanted to be. You, more than anything, were home.”

“Going a lot of places just makes you realize the value of home more.

“Cricket.” I leaned back against the couch, taking her with me. “We’re okay.” “You dove in front of a bullet.” The words were barely discernable through hiccupped sobs. “I dove for you. I will every time.”

“You can’t. Promise me. You can’t.” Wren chanted the words over and over as if she could will the vow from me. “I can’t promise you that.” Her fist thumped against my back. “Why?” “Because I love you too damn much.” Wren only cried harder. “I-I can’t lose you, Holt. Don’t make me lose you.”

I held her tighter, rocking back and forth. “You’re not going to lose me. I’m right here, a...

He tipped my head back to rinse my hair and pressed a kiss to the hollow of my throat.

“Holt.” His name was a barely audible whisper. His lips skimmed my neck. “Love you, Wren.”

Holt traced my bottom lip with his thumb. “Nothing but beauty.”

“Are you with me?” “With. You.”

“That’s the risk we all face. The price for loving deeply. Family, friendships, relationships. The only certain thing is that we’ll lose each other.”

“She has an awesome dog, too. I’m training her for SAR.” “You’ve already got a sidekick.” I leaned down, pressing my forehead to Shadow’s. “What do you think? You gonna be my sidekick?”

“I can’t lose you,” I croaked. “I’m right here,” she whispered. But someone could take her from me at any moment. How could I have forgotten that?

“How can’t you see what an amazing man you are? It doesn’t matter what I deserve or don’t because I want you. You’re all I’ve ever wanted.

“I can’t hide from you, Cricket. You’re in me. In my marrow.”

There was so much in Wren’s eyes. Words she hadn’t said but that I’d never stopped feeling. Those faint whispers of her that lived in me no matter where I went.

“Talk to me,” he said, lips skimming over my hair. “Can’t get warm.” “Cricket…” He hauled me gently on top of him so we were front-to-front. More of that warmth, that life seeped into me.

I stared down at the man who I’d known in every incarnation growing up.

I would always know Holt. Sometimes, better than I knew myself. Because I knew his soul. The very core of him. The trappings of that soul might change, but the soul itself never would.

Pressing a palm to his chest, over his heart, I let down the last of my walls. “I love you. I never stopped loving you. Not for a single breath.”

He rolled me to my back in a flash, hovering over me. “Say it again.” “I love you.” “The next part,” he growled, his words sending vibrations across my face. “I never stopped loving you.”

Emotion filled Holt’s eyes, the dark blue turning to a color I couldn’t identify. A single tear slipped free and landed on my cheek. “Never thought I’d hear those words again.”

“Nothing could keep me from loving you.” Not hurt or logic or an entire world separating us. We were meant to be. We would always find a way back to each other.

Holt dipped his head, his lips a breath from mine. “Are you with me?” “I’m always with you.”

I needed him more than oxygen. Had to cement this forever with flesh and bone.

He chuckled. I lifted a hand to his throat. “Do it again.” Emotion filled Holt’s gaze, but he did as I asked. I closed my eyes and let the sound wash over me. I’d never take a single chuckle for granted.

The kiss was long and slow and deep. Holt poured everything into it that there weren’t words for. A language that was only ours.

“Love you, Wren. Every moment of every day.”

I let myself feel Holt’s love. It hurt in the best way. The kind that branded and would be with me forever.

“I love you, Wren. I want this life with you. That means living it each and every day. Not running around the globe whenever a call comes in.”

But life was rarely simple and never perfect. It was like the land around us, full of jagged edges and pieces askew. But it was beautiful in its imperfections—more so because of them.

It was the two of us. When I took in the image, it was like looking at babies—so young, with no idea what would come our way. But so unbelievably happy.

She has my heart. My soul. Everything that’s good in me. She’s where I feel peace.”

“It’s because there’s only one girl who has ever felt right.”

Why, for some, was the answer to pain to create more? To pass that burden in an effort to pretend it hadn’t scarred them? It never worked. It just left twice the destruction.

“Touch a hair on her head and I’ll end you,”

Even in the years we’d been apart, I’d carried Holt with me like a brand on my soul. I would hear the whisper of his voice reminding me that I was perfect just as I was.

we had to face things together, no matter what came our way. Because we were our strongest selves when we had the other backing us up.

“Love you, Cricket. Every day. Every minute. Come back to me.”

“Come on, Cricket. Open those beautiful eyes. Show me you’re with me.”

“He said he printed it out and had it laminated before boot camp. It’s been with him every place he’s ever gone.”

“He said that he’d slip it into his uniform so you were right next to his heart on every patrol. That he’d tuck it into his bunk or pin it to the tent so he could fall asleep looking at your face.”