Once again I’m borrowing this idea from Carolyn Jean. She calls these Great Moments from Last Night’s Reading. Today’s moment comes to you courtesy of Pursuit by Elizabeth Jennings.

With a powerful voice and unstoppable suspense, Elizabeth Jennings makes her Forever debut.

A shocking betrayal…her father’s murder…and a life-threatening accusation…Heiress Charlotte Court has walked into a waking nightmare-one that sends her running from her wealthy home to anywhere she can hide.

Across the border in Mexico, Charlotte creates a new identity and finds refuge in the battle-torn arms of Navy SEAL Matt Sanders. Fleeing his past, Matt yearns to protect her and replace her pain with pleasure. But Charlotte can’t trust anyone, not even someone she’s starting to love. She knows she’s a target-and out of sight, a soulless killer is zeroing in on his prey….

I’m working on my review of this, to be posted later today, but I just had to share this part. It’s so touching and simple, and yet so complex and impacting.

Matt is in Mexico healing from serious wounds he received while on a mission. He’s basically a broken man. He’s unable to return to active duty, weak as a newborn kitten and has pretty much lost his will to live. But Charlotte sees him from her porch one day and he sees her seeing him, and they just..connect. It’s not cheesy or contrived, but a true connection. A case of like finding like, I suppose you could say, because they’re both broken and alone.

So every day Matt goes to the beach near Charlotte’s house and works on getting his strength back by doing push-ups and swimming. Four laps the first day, then ten push-ups, then he collapses on the beach. But every day he does a little more. And every day Charlotte goes out to watch him, silently encouraging him. Then he starts leaving little gifts for her on her porch. She paints them (a conch shell, etc) and slips the paintings under his door. This goes on for some time. The don’t speak to each other, or really meet. Every day she watches him put himself back together, silently offering him her strength, and every night he leaves a gift on her porch that she paints.

It’s so sweet and touching, the way they connect and “get to know each other”. Two broken people putting themselves back together with the support of a complete stranger. Amazing.

The best line of the book comes shortly after this, when Matt heads out farther into the sea than he ever has before. It’s a stormy day and the sea is choppy, so before long Charlotte loses track of him. Though she’s terrified of the water, she rushes down the dock, anxious to spot him, willing to jump in to save him if necessary. But the dock collapses, and she plunges into the water. Unfortunately she gets caught on a board and isn’t able to free herself. Just when she thinks she isn’t going to make it, Matt dives in and saves her.

He pulls her out of the water and carries her to her cottage. As they’re walking up the beach, she looks at him and says, “You came.” and he replies, “Of course, sweetheart.” That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. Just, “Of course, sweetheart.”

Isn’t that beautiful?

This book is available from Grand Central Publishing. You can buy it here or here in e-format.