Her Second Forever

by Joanna Sims

  “Colt—”

  “No. Let me finish, Lee,” Colt said quietly. “I know how much you loved him. How much you still love him. I know you always will. If we have a boy, and you want to name him Michael, I will support you.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “That’s not want I want for us. It’s not what Michael would have wanted.”

  He kissed her hand. “I used to be jealous of the love you had for him, because I wanted it all for myself. But I don’t need all of the love, Lee. I just need what I have with you right now. Forever.”

  Lee held on to his hand tightly. “I always believed that we only get one forever. But that’s not true. You are my second forever, Colt. And I am so grateful that we found each other.”

  Lee reached for her locket. “My Grandmother Macbeth, the original Lee Macbeth, gave this to me. It was hers and I cherish it.”

  Lee opened the locket. “Grandmother Macbeth always told me to carry what is most important to me close to my heart. Now, this is what is most important to me.”

  Inside of the locket, there was a picture of the ultrasound of their child. Colt wrapped his arms around her in gratitude and kissed her on the top of her head.

  “I just want you to be happy, Lee. That’s all I want.”

  Lee held on to him just as tightly as he was holding onto her. “I used to think that I was happy, Colt. I thought that I was happy when I was invited to give motivational talks or when I had a successful summer session at Strides. I thought all of those things were making me happy. But it wasn’t true.”

  Lee looked out to the horizon. “I was so painfully sad inside. I was holding on to a time when I remember being happy—when I was with Michael and we were planning a family together. But the truth was, Colt, I was trying to remake a moment that couldn’t be recaptured. It’s gone. I had to accept it.”

  Colt kissed her on the lips, wanting to comfort her with his love. She put her hand on his cheek so sweetly. “I haven’t been happy for such a long time, Colt. But I am happy with you. Because of you, I am alive inside again. Because of you, I remember what it was to truly love. I am so lucky to have you.” Lee put her hand on her abdomen. “And I am lucky to have our child.”

  * * *

  “Are you ready?” Colt called out to her anxiously. “Everyone is waiting for us!”

  Lee came out of the bedroom with an off-white dress she had purchased off the rack with a matching pair of sparkly off-white ballerina slippers that fit her favorite foot perfectly.

  “I’m ready.” She laughed at his nervousness. “I don’t want to be an unwed mother.”

  “Hey.” Colt had his long hair pulled back from his face in a ponytail. “What about me? I don’t want to be an unwed father.”

  “Tessa!” Lee called for her sister, who was getting dressed in their spare bedroom. They had thrown together an impromptu wedding at Sugar Creek and invited only family. Tessa was the only one who could fly out on short notice, so she was the representative of Lee’s family from Florida.

  “Here I am.” Tessa came out looking beautiful in a sundress with a cinched waist, her dark curls framing her slender face. Tessa was the taller of the two sisters and her hazel eyes always turned bright green whenever she cried. Lee assumed her sister’s eyes would be bright green today during the ceremony.

  “I’m so glad you could come.” Lee hugged her sister.

  “Me too,” Tessa agreed.

  “Let’s head over to the main house. Bruce has been texting me that everyone is waiting.”

  The three of them bundled out the door and climbed into Colt’s Ford truck. Colt floored it and sped along the dirt road that would take them from the cabin to the main house.

  “Meesh!” Tessa exclaimed when the sprawling main house, a mansion in its own right, came into view. “You guys sell a lot of cattle, don’t you?”

  “A bit.” Colt swung the truck into a parking spot and jumped out to come around to their side of the truck.

  “I can’t believe that we’re late to our own wedding.”

  “It’s not the real wedding though,” Lee was quick to remind him. “After the baby is born, I want a real fancy wedding with all the trimmings.”

  “We didn’t even get to go wedding dress shopping,” Tessa pointed out. “I know that Mom and Grandma Macbeth will want to go wedding dress shopping.”

  “This is just a ceremony so our child is born in wedlock.” Lee reached for her husband-to-be’s hand. “Agreed?”

  “As you wish, my lady.” Colt opened the front door to the house and quickly led her to the backyard.

  The family that had gathered in the outside garden all cheered when they arrived at their own wedding; Lee felt like she was always on a Brand merry-go-round when she was with Colt’s family, moving from one person to the next to the next but never really getting anywhere. She was passed from Bruce to Savannah to Gabe and his fiancée, Bonita. Callie and Kate were there, as were Shane and Rebecca. Lee had grown up in a small tight-knit family. It would be an adjustment to integrate into a large tight-knit clan. It seemed like the Brand family always traveled in a pack.

  “Take your places, everyone!” The priest at Savannah and Rebecca’s church had agreed to officiate the wedding.

  “Are we ready?” Gail Allen was sitting behind a rental organ that had been wheeled into the garden. “Well, I’m starting.”

  Gail began to play the wedding march. Colt walked quickly up the aisle to stand by his brother Liam, who was acting as his best man. Tessa followed behind him, smiling and curtsying until she made it to her seat right up front.

  “Here we go again,” Lee said to Boot, who was waiting to walk her down the aisle.

  Lee’s mind flashed back to her first wedding. Boot had been there with his wife and Michael looked so nervous, waiting for her at the end of the aisle. They had been so young, but everyone in both families hadn’t objected. Perhaps it was because everyone always assumed that they would marry young, right out of college.

  “I want to thank you, Boot, for always being here for me, no matter what comes our way. Even now, you’re here, walking me down the aisle.”

  “Where else would I be?” Boot asked in his gruff way. “Hmm? You don’t realize what you give me, Lee. Because of you, I’m good for something. Because of you, I am still useful.”

  Lee refused to cry before she walked down the aisle. Instead, she adjusted Boot’s tie, linked her arm with his and began the walk down the aisle to her new life with Colt.

  “I don’t think either of us expected this,” Lee said for Boot’s ears only.

  “That’s what makes life so fun,” her father-in-law said, “You never know what’s right around the corner.”

  Lee had to agree with him there. Gilda was his date for the wedding, and even though she herself was marrying someone else, it was still difficult for her to see Boot move on. Not everything in life was cut and dry.

  As she walked, she felt the baby moving inside of her belly. Lee put her hand on her belly and laughed. “The baby has decided to join in on the excitement.”

  At the end of the aisle, and when he was asked, Boot gave her away to Colt with his booming, fatherly voice. Lee’s parents and grandmother were watching on video chat, which was being managed by Tessa in the front row.

  Colt was there to receive her. He took her hands in his and stared into her eyes in such a loving way it almost brought her to tears. Why was she so fortunate to have this man love her? What did she do to deserve this wonderful man?

  Colt mouthed the words I love you.

  “I love you,” she whispered back, squeezing his fingers.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to marry this man and this woman...”

  The ceremony was simple and short, just like she’d wanted it. The real wedding would happen later. For now, she just wanted to bring their chi
ld into a marriage. It was important to both of them.

  “Well,” Colt said as they walked together down the aisle for the first time as a married couple, “you’re mine now.”

  “And you are mine,” she reminded him playfully.

  “I haven’t even asked you where you want to go on a honeymoon.”

  “Okay—I know it’s not sexy, but I really want to see my family in Florida.”

  “I wouldn’t mind stopping by Walt Disney World for a pair of those mouse ears,” Colt said with a straight face.

  “If you agree to go to Central Florida to see my family and meet my Grandmother Macbeth, I will buy you two pairs of those ears. That’s a promise!”

  * * *

  Their first night as a married couple was spent in Lee’s 1930s bungalow. Tessa was staying in the cabin and it just made sense that they have privacy on their wedding night. After Colt agreed to spend their honeymoon in Florida, Tessa found them seats on her flight and they all planned to fly together.

  “Come join us, my beautiful wife.” Colt was lying down on the bed, his shirt unbuttoned, his shoes kicked off. He was lying down with Chester, who was purring happily while Colt rubbed his belly.

  “I’m just warning you. Tubby and I spoon every night. It’s a tradition.”

  “If you’re telling me that I am going to play second fiddle to this cat and all of your horses, I already know that.” Colt smiled and held out his hand. “Come here.”

  Lee joined him on the bed, careful not to disturb Chester. “Have you ever made love to a married woman before?”

  Colt made a face.“Now how do I answer that without getting into trouble?”

  Lee hit him on the arm. “Okay—let me rephrase that. Have you ever made love to your wife before?”

  “Now that I can answer without getting into trouble!” Colt said. “Not yet.”

  Colt gently put Chester down on the floor and guided him out of the bedroom. “Sorry, big guy. I need some alone time with the wife.”

  As was typical of Colt, he stripped out of his clothing, completely confident in his gorgeous skin.

  “What are you waiting for?” He tugged her toward him, reached around her back and began to unzip her out of her dress.

  “I just thought you might like the pleasure of unwrapping your wedding present.”

  Colt growled at the thought, helping her out of the dress. Soon her bra and underwear followed and she was standing naked before him, wearing nothing at all except her prosthetic leg and her locket.

  Colt leaned down and kissed her rounded belly, then he kissed a happy trail from her belly up to her swollen breasts. After sucking on her nipples until she was begging for him to kiss her all over her body, Colt swept her up in his arms and set her down on the bed. He reached out for her, but she stopped him. It was her turn to please him. She took his thick hard-on into her mouth, holding onto his thigh to keep him exactly where she wanted him. She played with him, loved on him until he couldn’t stand a moment more.

  “Enough,” he said gruffly, guiding her backward on the bed. He knelt down between her thighs and loved her with his tongue and his lips until she was moaning and writhing and reaching for him.

  “Please.” She tried to pull him up so he would cover her with his heavy body. “Please. I need you.”

  Colt covered her body with his and slid deep within her. “Oh, yes, my love.” He kissed her eyes and her lips and her cheeks. He rocked inside of her, long deep strokes, taking her on a journey that only he could provide.

  Lee felt him so deep inside of her. She arched her back and felt like she was floating away on a cresting wave. She dug her fingernails into his arm and heard herself cry out his name, again and again. Colt, Colt, Colt...

  Colt picked her up and spun her around so she was sitting in his lap. She wrapped her body around his and kissed his neck and earlobes and lips. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of him just as she had taken his body into hers.

  “This is our forever, Lady Macbeth.” Colt kissed her so sweetly.

  “Always and forever, Colt.” Lee captured his face in her hands, happy to get lost in his bright blue eyes. “Always and forever.”

  * * *

  Keep an eye out for the next book in the Brands of Montana series, coming November 2020 from Harlequin Special Edition!

  And in the meantime, check out these other great second chance western romances:

  The Texan Tries Again

  By Stella Bagwell

  A Chance for the Rancher

  By Brenda Harlen

  For the Twins’ Sake

  By Melissa Senate

  Available now wherever Harlequin Special Edition books and ebooks are sold!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Starting Over in Wickham Falls by Rochelle Alers.

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  Starting Over in Wickham Falls

  by Rochelle Alers

  Chapter One

  Georgina Powell stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror, shocked and saddened at the same time with her transformation. The last time she’d taken special care with her appearance was for her high school prom. And that had been more than a decade ago. What, she asked herself, had she been doing for the past fourteen years? But she knew the answer; she hadn’t been living but just existing.

  Her dream of enrolling in art school to become an illustrator had vanished completely with the unexpected death of her thirteen-year-old brother from meningitis. Her parents had been planning for Kevin to take over running the store once they retired, but their plans were transferred to her.

  Kevin’s death changed their family’s dynamics. Her mother appeared emotionally unable to recover from losing a child; her father threw himself into running the business as if it was a startup instead of one that had been well established for generations. And it had taken Georgina a very long time to come to the realization that her brother, whom she’d nicknamed Shadow because he followed her around as if he feared she would disappear, was gone and wasn’t coming back.

  Tonight signaled a change in Georgina’s life. Not only did she look different outwardly, but she’d also changed inwardly. The body-hugging black gown and matching four-inch, silk-covered stilettos had replaced the ubiquitous navy blue smock with Powell’s Department Store stitched over the back she wore over dark slacks. Her face with smoky shadows on her lids and a vibrant vermilion lip color, curly hair flat-ironed and tucked into a twist behind her ear completed her outward makeover. But it was her determination to move out of the house where she’d lived for the past thirty-two years that would alter her life.

  Once her father downsized, and then eliminated the arts and crafts area of the store in order to expand the sporting goods section, it sparked an idea that had nagged at her for weeks. Georgina boxed up the stock and dropped it off at a storage facility with the intent of establishing her own business in the same town where she’d spent her entire life.

  Picking up a black silk-lined cashmere shawl trimmed in faux fox, to ward off the chill of the mid-March night air, an envelope with the invitation and a beaded evening bag, Georgina walked out of the bedroom and down the back staircase to the garage located behind the two-story house. She managed to leave without encountering her mother. This was to become her first Wickham Falls Chamber of Commerce fund-raiser, an event that had been supported by both parents over the years, and then by only her father following Kevin’s passing.

  Georgina was shocked one night when after closing, Bruce Powell informed her that he wouldn’t be attending and that she should take his place to represent the busine
ss. And when she’d asked her father why, his comeback was that it was time for her to prepare to take complete control of the department store once he retired. She’d wanted to tell him that she had no intention of managing the store because if she was going to assume that type of responsibility then it would be her own business enterprise.

  She slipped behind the wheel of her late-model Nissan Rogue, an SUV she’d purchased to celebrate her thirty-second birthday. And at the beginning of the year, she’d made a New Year’s resolution to cross off at least three of the remaining nine notations on her to-do list. The first had been to trade in the Mini Cooper for the Rogue because she needed more room to transport the items needed to stock her new store.

  Georgina started up the vehicle that still claimed a new-car smell and headed for the venue in Wickham Falls where the fund-raiser would be held for the first time. In the past the members of the Chamber had contracted with a hotel off the interstate to hold the annual event in one of their ballrooms.

  A shiver of excitement rippled through Georgina when she thought about the plans she’d made for her future. She was aware that she had to work hard and probably make unforeseen sacrifices to realize her dream to become an independent business owner. But the knowledge that she would join a small number of women owning and operating their own businesses in Wickham Falls, West Virginia, was heady indeed.

  Fifteen minutes later she maneuvered into a space between a Ram 1500 and a Ford F-150. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy, she mused. Whether attending the local sports bar or a semiformal affair, pickups were the preferred modes of transportation in the town where the population still hovered below five thousand.

  Thankfully, the Gibsons, who owned the Wolf Den, when they erected a barn at the rear of the property for larger gatherings, had paved the parking lot. Georgina gathered her belongings off the passenger seat and alighted from the SUV.