His cell vibrated and he knew without looking that it was her, but if he took it from his pocket, he feared he’d hurl the damn thing across the yard. How could he have been so wrong? How could every emotion he felt coming from her have been a lie?
No. Fucking. Way.
He stalked back toward his truck. Like hell if he was going to let this whole thing fall apart, regardless of what he’d told Wes about it being her decision. He stopped halfway to the car, realizing this was her decision.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
The dogs watched in limbo as he took a step forward, then back, then toward the truck again.
Aw, hell. He loved her and that was that. Fuck what Trout said. Fuck what he told Wes. He opened the passenger door of the truck.
“In,” he commanded.
The dogs jumped inside. “Down.” Knight lay flat along the floor. Ranger and Sarge lay on the bench seat. He needed a goddamn bigger truck.
The truck roared to life, and he gunned the engine around the circular drive—then slammed on his brakes at the sight of approaching headlights. Christ Almighty. What now?
Elisabeth’s car came into view. He cut the engine again as she screeched to a stop and raced toward the truck. Her long hair flowed behind her, and she looked goddamn beautiful, stealing the starch from his gut. He climbed from the truck. The dogs barreled toward Elisabeth, blocking her way as they lifted off their front legs, vying for her attention, noses high, whining loudly.
“Ross!”
He heard tears in her voice and he closed the distance between them and swept her into his arms. “Lissa. I can’t play games. Not with you. You’re either with me or you’re not.”
“I’m with you, Rossie. When I saw you leave, my heart fell to my feet. It fell, Ross, just like Aunt Cora said it would.” Her legs dangled above the ground; her damp eyes were full of so much emotion Ross’s eyes grew damp, too. “Now I can breathe again.”
Having no idea of what the hell she meant, he sealed his lips over hers, and the day’s confusion and the evening’s anger fell away. She was in his arms, and that’s all that mattered.
“Lissa,” he whispered against her lips. “I’ll stand by you and support you in everything you do, but I can’t be expected to stand by while you’re in the arms of another man. I wanted to tear his head off.”
She kissed him again, then drew back and smiled. “Maybe I was wrong and you’re a killer after all.” She touched her forehead to his. “I was saying goodbye. For good. There’s only you and me, Ross.” She glanced down at the feel of Knight’s tongue on her leg. “And the boys. And the pigs. And Dolly, and the goats, but that’s it. Oh, and Rocky, but that’s it. I promise.”
“For now.” He pressed his lips to hers. “But I’m not taking any chances. One day soon I’m going to put a ring on your finger, and we’ll have babies to add to that list. As many as you want.”
His words brought her legs around his middle and fresh tears to her eyes. For the first time in his life, tears didn’t render him befuddled. They confirmed everything he’d known since their very first date.
With a tender kiss, he carried her inside.
Chapter Twenty-Three
SATURDAY MORNING FOUND Ross and Elisabeth on the back deck of Ross’s house, tangled together like spiders beneath a blanket. They’d been snuggled together on the lounge chair since five thirty, when Storm woke up to the sounds of their lovemaking. Storm had whined to go outside, and he’d woken the other dogs. Ross had bundled a blanket under his arm and suggested they watch the sunrise from the deck. Rocky called from the other side of the trees. The dogs lifted their heads in response. Swallows sang their morning melody as dawn rose over the pasture.
Elisabeth opened her eyes and breathed deeply. “Add the chickens to my list of animals that are part of our lives.”
He squeezed her tighter.
“We should really get going,” she said softly against his neck. “I want to make muffins before we leave for your mom’s and I have to feed the animals.”
“One more minute?” His voice was groggy, thick with the familiar sound of desire as his hand traveled down her bare hip.
She closed her eyes and settled in for another few minutes.
“Your heart is beating faster. Is that a signal that you’re getting anxious about being late and we should get up?” Ross opened his eyes and kissed her. “Or is it a signal that you can’t resist me for another second and I should take you right here and right now?”
“God, whatever you do, please don’t do that.” Jake came around the side of the house, wearing the same clothes he’d had on last night and looking like he hadn’t slept a wink.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Ross drew the blanket up and tucked it beneath Elisabeth’s arms. She loved that he took care of her before sitting up and facing his brother with a frustrated sigh. “What time is it?”
“Half-past a monkey’s ass and time for you to get your scrawny ass up.” Jake flopped into a chair and sighed. “Elisabeth, right? Nice to meet you.”
“Hi.” Oh. My. God. I’m naked.
“I might get up if I had a stitch of clothing on.” Ross’s lips spread into a smile.
“Shit.” Jake went inside mumbling about coffee. Elisabeth heard him take the stairs two at a time, then bound back down and return with a pair of Ross’s shorts. He tossed them at him, and Ross caught them in one hand. “I guess this means the ex is out of the picture?”
Elisabeth felt her cheeks flush. “He was never in the picture.”
“There was good money being bet about the outcome of that,” Jake said. “Good thing I bet on the right side of the fence.”
“Christ.” Ross pulled Elisabeth against his side and kissed her temple. “Where have you been all night?”
Jake’s lips quirked up. “You want all the juicy details?”
“Oh, hell no.”
“Tate had somewhere to be today, so he asked me to help you with your…thing,” Jake said.
“My thing?” Ross wrinkled his forehead.
“Something he was supposed to bring to Mom’s this morning? I brought it here. I figured you guys would be asleep and it would be a nice surprise. It’s up by the road. I didn’t want to wake you, which is why I came creeping around your house.”
“What thing?” Elisabeth was totally confused.
Ross stepped into his shorts and reached for her hand. He held the blanket tight against her body and slid Jake a look that could only be read as, Don’t even think about looking at my girlfriend’s naked body. That look was new, and she loved it.
“I had a little something fixed up for you,” Ross explained.
“You did? Ross, you didn’t have to do that.”
He tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s barely a token of what you deserve for how hard you work.”
“All this lovey-dovey stuff is cool and all, but do you mind if I make coffee?” Jake asked.
“I should get dressed anyway.” Elisabeth gathered the blanket around her and hurried inside.
“Nice tat,” Jake said as his eyes rolled down Elisabeth’s back.
“Shut the fuck up.” Ross kissed Elisabeth and pulled the blanket up higher on her back.
“Probably a good idea since we switched breakfast to your house, and everyone will be here any minute.” Jake headed for the kitchen.
“What? Why? And how come nobody told me?” Ross brought the dogs in and closed the door, then followed Elisabeth and Jake into the kitchen.
“It wasn’t planned. I texted Em to see if I could crash at her place for a few hours so I didn’t wake Mom, and she said Mom’s up because she was baking for the fair. She asked me if I did…the thing…and when I said I was about to, she said she’d get everyone and meet here.” Jake shrugged.
“At six in the morning?”
“Well, I told them to come closer to six thirty in case you weren’t here and I had to, I don’t know, break into Elisab
eth’s or something because you didn’t hear me knock at the door. I needed a little leeway.”
“You’re unbelievable.” Ross turned to Elisabeth. “I guess you should shower, babe. I’ll be up in a sec.”
On her way upstairs, she heard Jake’s voice. “Bro, go with her. I’m a big boy.”
She stood on the stairs listening to them for a minute. Maybe she should be bothered by Jake showing up unannounced at the crack of dawn, but Elisabeth grew up without brothers and sisters, and with a mother who was more interested in being pampered than taking part in family-oriented activities. She loved the way Ross and his brothers pitched in and took care of one another and helped out with those they loved. She even enjoyed their gruff brotherly banter. Jake’s showing up just proved how close they were.
By seven o’clock there was so much testosterone in the house that Elisabeth, Daisy, Callie, Emily, and Catherine escaped to the back deck. Knight lay at Elisabeth’s feet as the girls sipped coffee and talked. It was a brisk, sunny morning. The birds chirped, and the dogs played with Sweets in the yard.
“I heard Jake was looking for Fiona last night,” Emily said just above a whisper.
“Oh, no.” Catherine leaned in closer. “Is that why he didn’t come home last night?”
“No, he was with someone else,” Emily said. “But I know he was looking for her because I stopped at the diner this morning and Margie asked me if Jake caught up with Fiona.”
“Well, from what I’ve heard from Luke, she would have been just another conquest if he had, even if she was his long-lost love. Luke seems to think Jake will never find that part of himself again. That he’ll never allow himself to fall in love again,” Daisy said. “So it’s probably a good thing. Rumors around here. Sheesh. Can you imagine?”
“I don’t know. Braden love runs deep, and he never did get over her,” Emily said.
Silence settled in around them, and Elisabeth tried to break the tension.
“So, who was your money on last night? Ross or…?” Elisabeth asked Emily.
“What money?” Emily furrowed her brow, but Elisabeth saw the way her fingers tightened on her coffee mug.
“Mine was on you and Ross,” Daisy answered.
“Mine, too,” Callie said.
“I refused to feed into it,” Catherine said. “But if I had, my money would have been on you and Ross.”
“Oh, that money.” Emily shrugged and shifted her eyes away.
Elisabeth gasped. “You thought I’d leave Ross? After I told you how I felt about him?”
“Actually, I bet double or nothing on you and Ross.”
Elisabeth swatted her arm. “You…That was so unfair.”
“If you’re going to be in this family, you’d better grow thicker skin,” Daisy said with a little nudge.
Luke and Jake came flying out the door. They were a tangle of arms and big, burly bodies as they pushed past Elisabeth, weaved around Daisy and Emily, and leaped off the deck. Jake tackled Luke as Wes ran out the doors, past Elisabeth and Daisy—stopping for half a second to kiss Callie—dove off the deck, and piled on. Ross walked leisurely out of the house and handed Elisabeth his coffee mug. He kissed her lips and sighed.
“It’s that time, I suppose.” Within seconds he was rolling around on the grass with his brothers as they wrestled and laughed and pinned one another down.
Callie turned her back and covered her eyes. “I can’t watch. I’m always afraid someone’s going to break a bone.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Daisy assured her. “My medical degree will be put to good use with these guys around.”
Elisabeth watched Ross wrestle with Jake. They stopped, midtackle, and stared each other down. It lasted only a second or two, and then they were mangling each other once again. She smiled at them. Ross looked so happy, and she loved seeing this playful side of him.
“This is what family’s all about.” Elisabeth sipped Ross’s coffee, happy as could be. She had a man she adored and she was surrounded by the nicest friends a girl could ever ask for.
“Okay, boys, time to stop.” Catherine marched off the porch in a pair of blue capris and a white blousy shirt and stood over the pile of men, hands firmly planted on her hips.
All four men stopped cold and shared a knowing look. In the next breath, they had Catherine up in the air, her butt on Luke’s and Wes’s shoulders. The dogs barked at them.
“Put. Me. Down!” Catherine’s smile was priceless.
Elisabeth couldn’t imagine her mother ever looking so carefree and happy, and she felt sad. Not as much for herself as for her mother. She wished her mother were happier, but she knew that wasn’t something she could do anything about. Happiness, she knew, came from within first; others only enlivened the feelings that were already present.
“To the driveway!” Emily hollered.
They carried Catherine out to the driveway, and when they set her on the ground, she hugged each one of them, then immediately swatted their backsides with a loving hand.
“I’m too old for that. I could have broken a hip,” Catherine said through her laughter.
Daisy raised her hand. “That’s what I’m here for.”
Ross laced his fingers in Elisabeth’s and pressed a kiss to them.
“My money was on us, too.” Ross reached into his pocket and pulled out her aunt’s key chain.
She looked at the keys, then back up at Ross. “I don’t understand.”
“Come on.” He led her down the driveway, and like the Pied Piper leading mice, the others followed along.
“I never got rid of the van. I knew how much it meant to you, and my intention was just to fix it up for your pie deliveries, but then you started the pet business.” He shrugged and pointed behind the berm of trees.
There, on the other side of the trees, sat her aunt’s van, repainted bright pink. It had bold black lettering on the side that read, TRUSTY PIES & PET PAMPERING, along with a picture of a dog—complete with bows on her collar—sitting on its hind legs, holding a pie in one paw.
“That’s why I was with Tate. Inside, there’s a refrigeration unit for your pies and cabinets for your grooming supplies.” Emily pressed her lips together and lifted her brows at Daisy and Callie. “Not dating, just coordinating. I cannot wait to go to Italy.”
Elisabeth covered her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. “You did this for me?”
“I’d do anything for you.” Ross took her in a passionate kiss that had all the girls awwing, and Elisabeth melting in his arms. Exactly where she was meant to be.
The End
Please enjoy a preview of the next
Love in Bloom novel
Dreaming of Love
The Bradens
Love in Bloom Series
Melissa Foster
Dreaming of Love Excerpt - Chapter One
LUSH. VERDANT. HILLY…Amazing. Emily stood on the covered balcony of the villa where she’d rented a room just outside of Florence, Italy, overlooking rolling countryside and the spectacular city below. The sun was kissing the last light of day goodbye, leaving chilled air in its wake. She sighed at the magnificent view, wrapped her arms around her body, and gave herself a big hug. She couldn’t believe she was finally here, staying at the villa that her favorite architect, Gabriela Bocelli, built.
Gabriela Bocelli wasn’t a very well-known architect, but her designs exuded simplicity and grace, which Emily had admired ever since she’d first come across this villa during her architecture studies. That felt like a hundred years ago. She’d dreamed of visiting Tuscany throughout school, but in the years since she’d been too busy building her architecture business, which specialized in passive house design, to take time off. If it weren’t for one of her older brothers, she might still be back in Trusty, Colorado, dreaming of Tuscany instead of standing on this loggia losing her breath to the hilly terrain below.
She pulled her cell phone from the back pocket of her jeans and texted Wes.
You’re the best brother EVER! So happy to be here. Thank you! Xox.
Emily had five brothers, each of whom had hounded her about her safety while she was traveling. Or really, whenever they didn’t have their eyes on her. Pierce, her eldest brother, had wanted to use his own phone plan to buy her a second cell phone with international access. Just in case. She’d put her foot down. At thirty-one years old, she could handle a ten-day trip without needing her brothers to rescue her. It wasn’t like she ever needed saving, but her brothers had a thing about scrutinizing every man who came near her. Yet another reason why she didn’t date very often.
Still, she was glad they cared, because she adored each and every one of their overprotective asses.
Adelina Ambrosi appeared at the entrance to the balcony with a slightly less energetic smile than had been present throughout the day. Adelina had run the resort villa with her husband, Marcello, for more than twenty years. She was a short, stout woman with a friendly smile, eyes as blue-gray as a winter’s storm, and wiry gray hair that was currently pinned up in a messy bun. She must have mastered the art of walking quietly to keep from disturbing the guests.
“Good evening, Emily.” Adelina brushed lint from the curtains hanging beside the glass doors. Emily was glad they loved the property as much as she did. They rented out only two rooms of the six-bedroom villa in order to always have space available for family and friends. The villa was a home to them, not just a resort or a business, as was evident in the warm guest rooms.
“Good evening, Adelina. Any news on Serafina’s husband?”
Serafina was Adelina and Marcello’s daughter. She and her eight-month-old son had been living in the States when her husband, Dante, a United States Marine, had gone missing in Afghanistan while out on tour almost three months ago. Adelina had told Emily that she’d begged Serafina to come home and let her take care of her and baby Luca until her husband returned—and Adelina was adamant that he would return. Emily, on the other hand, wasn’t quite so sure.
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