by Jeannie Watt
Frowning a little, he flipped to the next card. “B is for Been Thinking About My Next Move.”
The frown cleared and his mouth began curving up at the corners. “C is for Compromise.”
He hoped so.
The next card read “Steel yourself. I’m going to skip letters.”
His smiled widened as he read the last card. “W is for Warehouse…see you there?”
*
Felicity wrapped her arms around herself. Danny’s warehouse was startlingly clean—the debris piles, the office framing, the protruding pipes were gone—but the place could still use a heating system. The propane heater she’d set up was doing its job, but once she stepped out of the heat zone, it was freezing.
The sound of an engine brought her head up, and she, who’d spent the last several days convincing herself that this was old territory, surprising Danny, had to fight to hold ground. She’d never hung herself out there like this before, with her heart on the line along with everything else.
Trust that he loves you.
She did. He did. There was nothing to worry about.
So why was her heart about to beat its way out of her chest?
Because nothing was easy with Danny?
Or because she just wanted everything over and done so that she could settle into spending time with the guy she’d loved for a lot longer than she’d suspected.
The keys rattled in the door, and she moved closer to the table beside the glowing heater.
Danny stepped through the doorway, then stopped as he took in the scene—the folding table covered with her mother’s good tablecloth, the china, a vase of red roses, red napkins. Polished silverware. A large take-out hamper from Le Petite Holly.
His gaze met hers across the concrete floor. “Okay. I wasn’t expecting this.”
“What were you expecting?” she asked as she stepped away from the table.
“You had me stumped.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “I don’t recall that happening very often during our long and checkered past.”
“Only every day for the past few weeks.”
She moved a few steps closer, literally breathing easier, but there were things to address before she could relax. “You didn’t act stumped. Not until the end.”
“When you stubbornly held your just-friends ground.” He shifted his weight. “Where are we on that issue?”
“Let’s consider,” she said thoughtfully. “I flew standby to Boise, rented a car, drove through a storm, polished silverware.” She took a step closer and reached for the front of his coat. “I hate polishing silverware, but sometimes you do what you gotta do.”
“Are you going to mangle my garments again?”
She smiled a little as he took her by the shoulders, pulling her close enough to trap her hand between them. “Apparently not.” She met his gaze, then gave into impulse—something she planned to do a lot more of in the future, slipped her free hand around the back of his neck and pulled his lips down for a long, sweet kiss. Then she went back for a second and a third. When her back hit cold brick, she realized that she’d been backing up. But while the brick was cold, everything about Danny was warm. And wonderful. She was home.
“I’ve got something to tell you,” she said to his chin before raising her gaze. How had she ever believed she could walk away from this man who was such a part of her?
“And that would be?” he prompted gruffly.
“I love you. Sorry for taking so long to figure things out.”
He lowered his forehead to touch hers. “I love you, too. Not that you haven’t made it difficult.”
“How so?” she asked in a low voice.
“Let’s consider,” he said leaning back to look down into her face. “You threatened me with a three-headed dog. Locked me in a tool shed, so that I still tic a little when I see a shovel or rake. You soaped up the windows of my beloved Mustang. You trapped me in a furnace room.”
“The furnace room was your fault.”
“It was.”
For a long moment they simply looked into one another’s eyes, half smiling, communicating on a level that demanded no words.
“I’m coming home.”
Danny drew back. “No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“You’re not leaving everything you’ve worked for because of me. What about your retirement fund?”
She took hold of his forearms, leaving his coat unmangled. “I can truly say I’m doing this for me. I told my family the truth about Sean, and they back me on this. Besides, I get back all the money I put into the 401(k). I only lose the matching funds.”
“Which hurt you to the depth of your soul before.”
Her gaze jerked up to his. “No. Not being true to myself hurt me to the depth of my soul. Losing the money was something I could complain about out loud.”
He pulled her against him then, settling a hand against the back of her head as he rested his cheek on her hair. And, as always, Danny smelled so good.
“You could have stopped by the house to tell me all this.”
“And miss making my grand gesture?” He pulled back to look at her, and she said, “I wanted to have our Valentine’s Day dinner. The one I bailed on.”
“It’s President’s Day, Felix.”
“Next year we’ll celebrate on the actual day and every year after that.”
“It’s a hokey holiday,” he reminded her with a wicked smile.
“And you gave me a hokey valentine that I’ll treasure forever. By the way, I disregarded your suggestion to disregard small messages. I do want to be yours.”
“Do you?” he asked in a tone that made her go all warm inside.
“Yeah. V is for Valentine and F is for Forever.”
“On that,” he said as he lowered his head to kiss her soundly, “I have no argument.”
“First time ever,” she murmured against his lips.
“Behave,” he replied before he kissed her again.
“Always.”
Epilogue
Six months later.
“Here’s what I think,” Felicity said as she turned Stevie’s hand so that her new engagement ring caught the light. “In keeping with tradition, Tess and I should plan your wedding, and you should simply show up, like Kara and Theo did after you and Brant planned their wedding.”
“Actually, I like that idea,” Stevie said, “but I don’t see how you’re going to do that while living in Seattle.”
“Video chat, Zoom. So many options.”
“You’re going to hate it when I say yes.”
A flare went up from the charcoal barbecue and the three men gathered around it fell back, laughing as they made a show of protecting their faces. Pete sat in a lawn chair nearby, talking with Danny’s parents who’d returned home after their warm Arizona winter.
“Let’s let them plan the wedding,” Stevie said gesturing at her new fiancé, Brant Gilroy, Danny, and Jason Regan.
“It would be memorable,” Tess agreed, shifting her position as Neville came out from under the porch, his nose and front paws dirty from digging, and worked his way onto her lap. “At least we have one man who knows better than to play with fire,” she murmured to the terrier, rubbing his ears.
Another shout went up from the barbecue area, and Felicity smiled as she leaned back against the newel post, the sunbaked wood warm against her back. Men and fire. A tale as old as time.
“A penny for them,” Tess said, and Felicity realized that she was smiling as she watched Danny.
“Just dreaming about soaping up car windows,” she said.
“I never thought you’d go soft,” Stevie murmured. “Look at you. All gooey in love.”
“That’s me,” Felicity replied. And love had worked out better than she’d dared hope. She hadn’t given up her job in Seattle. Danny had convinced her that if they could make it through two decades of firefights, they could make it through two years of long-distance courtship while she beca
me vested in the company retirement fund. In the meantime, as she planned her future in Idaho, researching jobs and the possibility of going solo, he and Sandra continued to build their real estate holdings. He was already in negotiations for another rundown building with good bones in the same neighborhood as his current project.
“Are you guys thinking of tying the knot?” she asked Tess, catching her sister staring at Jason in much the same way that she’d been staring at Danny.
“Mmm,” Tess replied. “There’s been mention, but,” she gave Stevie a pointed look, “we don’t want to steal anyone’s thunder.”
“Steal away,” Stevie said. “Hey…we could make it a double—”
“Girls!” They looked up at their dad’s shout. “Picture time.”
“Love picture time,” Felicity murmured. “Best make sure that my hair is standing on end.”
“And I’ll need a few minutes to practice closing my eyes at just the right moment,” Tess added as they crossed the lawn to where the parents were already choreographing.
“Danny, stand behind Felicity,” his mom, Molly, directed.
He nodded and took his place.
“No rabbit ears,” Molly added sternly.
“No, ma’am,” he said, exchanging a look with Jason before settling his hands at Felicity’s waist. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmured close to her ear.
She couldn’t help sliding a hand up along his cheek, only to drop it again when Molly rushed back to her place in front of Danny’s dad after setting the camera timer. “Now concentrate, people. I want a perfect family portrait. One, two…”
On three, four sets of masculine hands made rabbit ears behind the women’s heads in front of them, and the camera clicked.
Felicity laughed when she looked at the photo and saw that her dad had made ears behind Neville’s head as he held him. “He’s spending too much time with you,” she murmured to Danny.
“I’ll try not to lead him astray,” he murmured as his head came down to lightly kiss her. “Much.” The barbecue flared again, and he smiled down at her. “I’m needed.”
“Go. I’ll meet you at the dessert table later.”
He nodded, then leaned down for one last kiss. “Love you,” he said.
Felicity put her hands on his chest. “Love you back. Now go put out a fire.”
The End
Want more? Check out Stevie and Brant’s story in Once Upon a Winter Wedding!
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If you enjoyed V is for Valentine, you’ll love the other books in the….
Holly, Idaho series
Book 1: A Home for the Holidays
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Book 2: Once Upon a Winter Wedding
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Book 3: V is for Valentine
View the series here!
More books by Jeannie Watt
The Marvells of Montana series
Book 1: The Montana Bride
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Book 2: The Christmas Secret
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Book 3: Catch Me, Cowboy
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Book 4: The Cowboy Rides Away
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Men of the Marvell Ranch series
Book 1: The Cowboy’s Last Rodeo
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Book 2: A Marvell Country Christmas
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Book 3: Challenging the Cowboy
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Book 4: Her Cowboy Boss
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About the Author
Jeannie Watt is the author of over 20 contemporary romances and the recipient of the Holt Medallion Award of Merit. She lives in a small ranching community—a place where kids really do grow up to be cowboys—with her husband, dog, cat, horses and ponies. When she’s not writing, Jeannie enjoys sewing retro fashions, running, and buying lots and lots of hay.
If you’d like to know more about Jeannie, check out her website JeannieWatt.com
Visit her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter @JeannieWatt
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