by Liv Brywood
“Well, Hailey’s dad and I have a surprise for you,” Jessica said.
“A present?” Eddie asked.
“Not exactly,” Clint said.
“How would you like to live with Hailey and her dad?” Jessica asked.
“Can we?” Eddie’s eyes widened.
“We can. They live close to Grandma and Uncle Brad,” Jessica said.
Hailey slid down the front of Clint and landed on her feet. She raced over to Eddie and gave him a huge hug. He looked mortified for a second before he hugged her back.
“He’s not out of the girls-have-cooties phase,” Jessica whispered to Clint.
“If it was up to me, he’d never get out of that phase. I’d also like to completely skip the teenage years if possible,” he murmured.
“Not likely,” she said. She looped an arm around his waist. “But at least we’ll go through it together.”
“Two at once?” He arched a brow. “That’s not exactly consoling.”
She grinned up at him.
“We’re bears. We can handle anything,” she said.
“Even hormonal shifters?” he asked.
“Even that.”
“There is one more thing we haven’t done yet,” Clint said.
“Oh?”
He dropped down on one knee and pulled a ring crafted from wildflowers out of his T-shirt pocket. He grabbed her left hand and gazed up at her with luminous amber eyes.
“Life is all about taking risks,” he said. “We took a risk coming here and letting the kids go off without us. We’ve taken even greater risks in the past. So I’m confident that I’m completely ready to take the plunge into marriage. Jessica, will you do me the honor of being my wife and Hailey’s new mom?”
“I will,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
As he slipped the makeshift ring onto her finger, he whispered, “We’ll upgrade this to a proper ring once we get back home.”
Home. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how much she had missed having a family. She’d spent the last two years living in a house fraught with bad memories. Now she could start fresh with him and never have to look back with regret again. Everything she’d endured in her life had brought her to this point, and she was right where she belonged—with Clint.
***
Six months later…
Jessica stood on the front porch of their brand new home. After moving to Billings, Clint had decided that he wanted to build her a dream home. She hadn’t been inside yet, but she’d worked side by side with him on the plans. Although she’d seen the blueprints, actually standing in front of it took her breath away.
A large wooden porch wrapped around the entire house. To the left of the front door, a two-person swing waited for them. She imagined spending countless summer nights sipping lemonade while Clint sat by her side.
“Are you ready to go inside?” Clint asked.
“Yes.”
“I wanna see my room,” Eddie said.
In the months since they’d left summer camp, he’d calmed down quite a bit. Clint had all the patience in the world when it came to her son.
“Is my room pink?” Hailey asked.
“Yep,” Clint said. “It’s princess pink.”
“And mine’s blue,” Eddie declared.
“It sure is,” Clint said.
“I want to see it,” Eddie demanded.
“We have to wait until your mom is ready,” Clint said. He glanced at her as if trying to gauge her reaction. “You okay, honey?”
“I’m just taking it all in,” she said.
A carved wooden sign hung to the right of the door—The Wilsons. As she trailed her fingers over it, her diamond engagement ring sparkled. She smiled and opened the front door.
Inside, polished wood floors gleamed. The contemporary furniture they’d selected decorated the living room. The walls were still bare, but they planned on covering them with family photos.
When they reached the kitchen, she wanted to weep. It was exactly the way she’d envisioned it. Dark granite countertops with flecks of deep blue would give her plenty of space for baking. She couldn’t wait to fill the house with the scents of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.
“Do you like it?” Clint asked.
“Honey, I love it.” She flung her arms around him and gave him a toe-curling kiss.
“This isn’t even the best room,” he whispered.
“Show me which one’s your favorite.”
He scooped her up and carried her down the hall. The kids ran after them, shrieking when they found their respective bedrooms.
When he opened the double doors to the master suite, her heart swelled with love. A huge four-poster bed sat in the center of the room. A quilt made of shades of blue and white covered it.
“Put me down for a second,” she said.
After he’d released her. She ran her fingers over the quilt.
“Your mom made it for us,” he said.
“She’s so sweet.”
“I have another surprise for you,” he said as he glanced at his watch.
“Oh?”
The doorbell rang.
“Right on time,” he said.
“Who’s here?” she asked.
“Your mom. She’s babysitting tonight so we can have some time alone.”
“You think of everything, don’t you?” She grinned.
“Anything for my future wife.”
“I’m so excited that we’re having a fall wedding,” she said.
“You don’t mind living in sin until then, do you?” he asked jokingly.
“I plan on doing a whole lot of sinning tonight,” she murmured. She’d just laced her hands behind his neck when the doorbell rang again.
“We should get that,” he whispered.
“Okay.”
They went to the front door to let her mom in.
“Honey, this house is amazing,” her mom said.
“Grandma!” Eddie yelled as he ran to wrap his arms around her legs.
“Don’t knock Grandma over,” Jessica warned.
“I’m not old and fragile yet,” her mom said with a laugh. She leaned over and hugged Eddie and Hailey. “Are you kids ready for popcorn and movies at Grandma’s house?”
“Yeah!” They replied in unison.
“Okay,” her mom said. “I’ll have them back tomorrow morning. You two have a good night.”
“Thanks so much, Mom,” Jessica said.
“Thank you, Susan,” Clint said.
“Oh, I’ll have none of that. You can call me Mom too,” Susan said.
“Okay, Mom.” Clint gave her a hug.
Susan clasped one hand from each of the kids. But before she turned to leave, she said, “You two had better make more grandkids. Two just isn’t enough.”
“Oh my God,” Jessica muttered as she buried her face against Clint’s shoulder.
“I’ll get right on it,” Clint said. He winked at Jessica. Mortified, she didn’t look up again until he’d closed the front door. “You heard what your mom said…”
“So embarrassing,” she muttered.
“And yet, such good advice,” he said as he scooped her into his arms.
“What about dinner?” Jessica asked.
“I’ll order delivery later. Right now, I have a bed to break in.”
She laughed as he carried her down the hall. Tonight would be the start of a whole new phase of her life. She’d found the man of her dreams and couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life with him.
The End
To be the first to find out about the next book in the series, and to get special offers and discounts, join Liv’s Den by clicking here!
Don’t Miss the Other Books in the Curvy Bear Ranch Collection
The Cowbear’s Secret Christmas Baby (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 1)
The Cowbear’s Curvy Christmas (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 2)
The Cowbear’s Christmas Shotgun Wedding (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 3)
The Cowbear’s Christmas Bride (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 4)
The Cowbear’s Curvy Valentine (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 5)
The Cowbear’s Mail Order Valentine (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 6)
The Cowbear’s Summer of Love (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 7)
The Cowbear’s Secret Christmas Baby (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 1)
Sexy cowboy Brady Grant belongs in Rachel’s past. But after a final round of chemotherapy fails to cure her son’s leukemia, she’s forced to hunt down the man who broke her heart. Her only hope of saving her son is to convince his father to undergo a dangerous operation. But before she can ask for his help, she must reveal the secret she’s been hiding for four years. Brady’s stunned by Rachel’s deception, but he can’t contain his bear’s carnal response to the BBW’s seductive curves. While he struggles to forgive her secret, he must risk his own life to save his son’s.
Excerpt
Rachel whispered, “You should go.”
When he didn’t immediately respond, butterflies beat furiously in her belly. His breath came fast and hard. His eyes glimmered with unspoken desire. Close enough to see the wash of stubble on his cheeks, she flicked her tongue out to wet her lips and, in doing so, made a huge mistake.
In an instant, Brady wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. His lips slashed across hers in a demanding kiss that stole her breath. Even if she’d wanted to fight him, she couldn’t. She knew, without a doubt, that she’d awakened the beast lurking inside him—his bear.
His tongue slid between hers, eliciting a gasp from deep within her chest. All thoughts of fighting him vanished as he claimed her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him down to deepen the kiss. It had been so long since she’d kissed someone that the overwhelming rush of pleasure made her half-faint with wanton need.
He broke away long enough to gasp. “Which room?”
“Two-fifteen.”
He scooped her into his arms as if she were lighter than a feather. When they reached the door, she yanked the keycard out of her jeans and jammed it into the lock. The second it clicked open, he kicked the door with his boot. He carried her inside and kicked the door closed behind him.
She couldn’t look at anything but the twin dark pools of desire in his eyes. The pure, masculine scent of erotic need rolled off of him in waves. She inhaled deeply, drawing in his essence.
After setting her down, he cupped her face with his palms. “If you want me to stop…”
She shook her head, unable to make her lips move. This was crazy, but she couldn’t think about the consequences now. She needed him, wanted him, and wouldn’t stop until she had him.
Buy The Cowbear’s Secret Christmas Baby
About the Author
I hope you enjoyed this book from the Curvy Bear Ranch series. If you liked it, please leave a review. Reviews are extremely important for authors and I appreciate it every time a reader leaves a review. To leave a review, please click here.
To be the first to find out about the next book in the series, and to get special offers and discounts, join Liv’s Den by clicking here!
To find out more about me, please check out my website.
Friend me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Email me at [email protected]
To view a complete list of my books, please go to my Amazon Author Page.