by Cat Schield
“But you said it yourself, we’re completely different. How long before I start to drive you crazy?”
“Immediately.” He laughed and his happiness made her heart pound. “Don’t you get it? I’m thrilled that you do. Isn’t that what your tarot cards said? For too long I’ve been burying myself in work. Isolating myself from the people I love and the world at large. You brought me back from the wilderness.”
She couldn’t believe he remembered the reading much less had taken it so to heart. “Does that mean you believe a little?”
“I’m starting to believe a lot. And that’s all because of you.”
“But what if I don’t want to settle down in one place?”
“I can do my job from wherever,” he said. “If you get itchy feet, we’ll load up your little camper and take it on the road. Have laptop will travel,” he joked, but to Lia’s surprise and delight, it looked as if he meant it.
Still, if he’d taught her anything these last few weeks it was caution. “It sounds like a fairy-tale ending,” she said. “But I’m not a princess, I just play one for kids who are stuck in the hospital.”
“I have an idea.” He turned utterly serious. “You read tarot cards for me and my cousins, but you never did one for yourself.”
“I don’t generally do my own readings.”
“Because you can’t?”
“Because I don’t want to see what’s coming.”
“How about for just this once, you take a look. If the cards tell you to get back on the road without me, then you’ll know.”
She laughed, unable to believe what she was hearing. Paul Watts was going to let his future be shaped by something he claimed not to believe in? “If you truly wanted me to stay, I would think you’d be trying to convince me yourself instead of depending on the cards.”
“I haven’t stopped trying to convince you. And I think the tarot cards will show you that you belong here. With me. Come on. It’ll be fun.”
Lia wanted to argue, but the obstinate set of Paul’s jaw kept her silent.
“Fine,” she said, heading toward the camper. “Let’s do this.”
In the hours since she’d said goodbye to Grady, she’d restored Misty to her preferred organized state. As she pulled out the tarot deck and sat down at the snug dinette, she noticed the way Paul glanced around, his gaze lingering on the bed where they’d made love the first time. Her heart skipped as stony determination settled over his features. That this man wanted her, loved her, weakened Lia’s resolve to make a clearheaded decision. She’d followed her intuition all her life, impulsively jumping into action, but some of Paul’s deliberate, logic-driven methodology had rubbed off on her.
Beneath Paul’s intense regard, Lia shuffled the cards while asking a simple question. Should she stay in Charleston and be with Paul? Instead of laying out the Celtic Cross spread all at once with the cards facedown the way she’d done in the earlier readings, Lia slowly placed each card faceup, considering the meaning as she went.
The reading started out ordinarily enough with the Fool, signifying the beginning of a journey, covered by the Two of Swords, which had a picture of a blindfolded woman, with arms crossed over her chest, holding two swords. The defensive imagery was clear enough that even Paul blinked in startled understanding.
“The basis of the situation is the Four of Cups,” she narrated. “Indicating a situation where someone is apathetic about the same dull situation.”
“Meaning it’s time for you to leave Charleston?”
Or that she wasn’t as enthusiastic to get back on the road as she once might have been. In truth, as she’d prepared the camper to leave, she’d noticed a dullness in her movements, a depression at the idea of leaving behind a city she’d grown to love.
“Possibly,” she answered, laying down the card symbolizing the recent past. “The Lovers.” Since that interpretation was also incredibly obvious, she moved on to possible outcome. “Eight of Cups.” The card showed a man walking away from what had been a happy situation. Lia’s heart sank as the message began to materialize.
“The King of Swords,” Paul said when he saw the next card. “Is that me in your future?”
Obviously, he’d been paying attention during the readings she’d done for his cousins because there’d been all sorts of kings in their spreads that Lia had interpreted as the significant appearance of strong men in the lives.
“I believe so,” Lia said cautiously. In the self position she drew the Six of Swords. It showed a couple traveling across the water in a boat, indicating a journey. The fact that it was reversed suggested the travel would be unsatisfying. “In my environment,” she continued, placing another from the sword suit.
“That doesn’t look good,” Paul remarked, gazing at the Nine of Swords which depicted a woman crying against a backdrop of swords. “In fact, she looks pretty unhappy. Seems like your leaving is going to upset people.”
Refusing to give him the satisfaction of agreeing, Lia placed the next card. “Hopes and fears.” Her reaction to the card’s significance must have shown on her face because Paul eyed her intently.
“What does it mean?”
Lia ground her teeth and debated whether to share that the card indicated the end of a journey or explain the more commonly held understanding that the Eight of Wands quite literally read as arrows of love.
“Action taken in love affairs,” she grumbled. “Proposals made and accepted.”
Although Lia didn’t glance at Paul, she could feel the smugness radiating from him.
“And the outcome card?”
She froze, afraid to see what her future held. So much of the reading confirmed Paul’s belief that she needed to stay and give their relationship a chance. How many times had she told people to trust in what the universe was telling them through the tarot deck? To turn her back on such clear mystic advice meant denying what she believed in.
And why?
Because she was afraid to take a risk with Paul.
“Lia?” Paul’s gentle prompt brought a lump to her throat. “What’s the last card?”
“I’m afraid to find out,” she admitted. “In this moment, right here and now, I haven’t made a decision that will impact the rest of my life. I’m at a crossroads where I can see my life going either way and there’s a certain amount of peace in that.”
“Schrödinger’s cat,” he declared, in all his adorable nerdiness. “Until you see the outcome you are both staying in Charleston and taking a chance on us while also content to drive off and never look back.” Paul plucked the last card from the top of the deck and placed it facedown in its position. “Forget the cards and trust your heart.”
That heart was hammering so hard against her ribs that Lia could barely breathe. Loving him consumed her, but she couldn’t shake the anxiety that one day he’d wake up and regret asking her to stay.
“It’s not my heart I need to trust,” she told him, pointing to the King of Swords card that represented him in the near-future position. “You rule your world with the strength of your personality and intellect.”
Paul indicated the card that represented her. The Fool. A free spirit. Impulsive. Naive. Trusting that a leap of faith will bring joy and happiness.
“It’s why I need someone like you in my life. We’ve known each other two weeks and I’ve changed so much in that short period of time. If you leave, I’ll just go back to being lonely and isolated, only now that state will make me miserable.” He then pointed to the Eight of Cups in her potential outcome position. “Don’t leave behind what promises to be a wonderful life with me here.”
“But your family,” she protested. “I lied to all of them about being Ava’s daughter. How can I ever look them in the eye again?”
“Actually, several of them already knew,” Paul said. “Ethan told Dad and we suspect he told Mom.”
“Dallas confronted me last night and she was really upset that Grady wrote me into his will,” Lia admitted, hope fading even as she noted the gentleness that softened the strong lines of Paul’s handsome face. “I think she hates me.”
“She doesn’t. She texted me this morning after she realized you left and knows she handled things badly. My whole family loves you. And I love you. The only question that remains is whether you love us enough to become a permanent member of the Watts clan.”
Her breath stopped. “What do you mean by permanent?”
“I mean...” He grinned at her as he slid out of the dinette. Dropping to one knee beside her, Paul popped open the ring box Grady had given him. “Ophelia Marsh, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
The formal words filled her with joy. “I adore you, Paul Watts,” she murmured around the thick lump in her throat. “But...” Panic rose; she wanted so badly to belong that she could barely keep it together. “Your family has to approve.”
“This is my grandmother’s ring,” he told her, pulling the circle of white gold and glittering diamonds free of the velvet padding. “Grady gave it to me to give to you. He wants you to be a part of our family. We all do.”
Lia stared at the ring, the legacy of an earlier generation’s love and fidelity, and something shifted inside her, settling into place, making her whole for the first time in her life. She held out her left hand and let Paul slide the ring onto her finger.
She framed his face with her hands and smiled. “Nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you.”
As Paul leaned forward to kiss her, he reached out and turned over the outcome card. Lia caught a glimpse of the image an instant before his lips met hers.
The Sun.
Joy. Happiness. Optimism. Energy. Wonder. The card promised all these and more.
Brilliant light exploded behind her closed eyelids as she gloried in the perfection of his kiss and reveled in all the boundless possibilities the future held. As opposites they’d been attracted to each other. Through their differences they’d learned, struggled and eventually changed. Like yin and yang they belonged together, two halves that made up a whole. Their journey had been a blend of destiny and deliberate choices. And as many challenges as they might encounter in the years ahead, Lia trusted they would overcome them together.
Epilogue
In the midst of the party to celebrate their engagement, Paul took Lia’s hand and drew her away from the well-wishers. Since arriving at his grandfather’s estate, they’d been swarmed by family and friends all eager to congratulate them. It was their first major social event as a couple and he’d been worried how she’d handle all the attention, but her dazzling smile demonstrated that she was gaining confidence by the hour.
Much had happened in the weeks since he’d proposed. Grateful for all she’d done for him, Grady had left Lia in his will, but since she wasn’t Ava’s daughter, he’d changed the amount intended for her. On the matter of Lia’s background, they’d chosen to reveal her family connection to the infamous Peter Thompson. By controlling the way the story came out, they’d gotten ahead of the gossip. Still, when faced with so much unwanted media attention, Paul half expected Lia to bolt for the open road. Instead, supported by the entire Watts family, she’d weathered the news event with grace.
Craving a few minutes alone with Lia, Paul guided her onto the back terrace and into a dark corner away from prying eyes. He didn’t expect they’d have more than a few minutes alone before they were discovered. He desperately needed to kiss her. As if her own desires matched his, Lia melted into his embrace, sliding her fingers into his hair and applying pressure to coax his lips to hers.
The scent of her perfume reminded him of the first time they’d met. He realized now that he’d started falling for her in that moment. His tactics for scaring her off would’ve worked if Ethan hadn’t concocted his scheme to pass her off as Grady’s granddaughter. Realizing just how close he’d come to losing her made Paul tighten his arms around Lia’s slim waist.
“I thought we were done sneaking around,” she teased with a breathless laugh when they finally came up for air.
“With a family as large as mine, if we want privacy we’re going to have to get creative.”
She hummed with pleasure as his lips traveled down her neck. “I like getting creative with you.”
The sound of a door opening a short distance away made Paul groan. A second later he heard Ethan’s voice.
“Here’s where you two disappeared off to.”
“Go away,” Paul growled, not ready for his interlude with Lia to end. “We’re busy.”
Ethan ignored his brother’s attempts to send him packing and stepped closer. “I thought you both might be interested in learning that we’ve received a hit from the testing service.”
Paul’s breath caught as the momentous news hit him like a sharp jab to his gut. Lia clutched his arm as she, too, reacted. Their eyes met and in that moment of connection the rest of the world fell away. Paul reveled in the deep bond developing between them. No matter what happened in the future, Paul knew Lia would be beside him, offering support and performing the occasional tarot card reading.
He grinned down at her. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Lia echoed, her sweet smile setting his heart on fire.
“Did you two hear what I said?” Ethan demanded, his exasperation coming through loud and clear. “We found Ava’s daughter.”
* * *
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Tangled with a Texan
by Yvonne Lindsay
One
As if it wasn’t enough she’d had to hand over her additional casework to the rest of her already overloaded team, now she was headed all the way out to Royal, Texas. Zoe Warren was a city detective, hell, city girl, through and through. She already could start to feel her skin itch at the thought of cattle and cowboys and all that open pasture. Mind you, driving the three hundred or so miles
to Royal had presented as a far more attractive option than facing yet another blind date set up by one of her four older brothers or her parents, who seemed to think she needed help settling down. And who said she wanted to settle down, anyway? She’d worked long and hard for her place on Houston P.D.’s detective squad, and her career trajectory was heading straight up. You weren’t a third generation cop without some dreams and goals ahead of you—and at only thirty years old, she had plenty of dreams and goals to fulfill while quite happily still single.
Sure, one day it might be nice to get married, throw a couple more Warren genes into the pool of rapidly growing family her brothers and cousins were constantly adding to. But not right now. And not on her ever-loving family’s timetable, either.
The open country that surrounded her had a raw beauty to it that even her citified eyes couldn’t help but appreciate. But always, in the back of her mind, she was working. As lead detective on the homicide case that was sending her on this journey, she was beginning to feel like the more they uncovered about the deceased, Vincent Hamm, the less they actually knew about him, and for her, following down each and every rabbit hole in Hamm’s life had become an obsession. The good thing about having this time on her own as she drove west toward Maverick County was that it gave her the opportunity for some thinking time. Time without the constant pressures that came with the responsibilities of her job.
Everything about this case was off. First, the vic had disappeared into thin air, then he’d never shown back up for work, and after the floodwaters had receded at the site of the new Texas Cattleman’s Club being built in Houston, he was eventually found dead with his face destroyed. Whoever killed him had taken great pains to ensure he couldn’t be visually identified—although the floodwaters had taken their toll, too.
Zoe took a swig of her water bottle and grunted in annoyance when she found it empty. Still, not long now and she’d be in Royal—she could stock up at a convenience store there. But first, a quick swing by the sheriff’s office was in order to make a courtesy visit and let them know that she’d arrived in the county. Nathan Battle, the sheriff, had made a personal visit to Houston to lend his support to the case. Her vic was the son of a friend of his and she’d expected Battle to be loudmouthed at the very least, and difficult at worst. Instead, she’d been quietly surprised by his demeanor. Oh, there was no mistaking the determination behind his promise to Hamm’s family to get to the root of who murdered their son, but he was a by-the-rules guy and his help here in Royal could prove invaluable to her investigation. She’d gone to great lengths to ensure she was doing everything in her power to bring the murderer to justice, and she was confident she’d earned the older man’s trust. She liked the guy. Not pushy, just determined. She respected that.