by Donna Grant
“Compete,” Audrey repeated. She gave a confused shake of her head. “I-I never knew what would happen from one day to the next. There were times that I didn’t think I would get through the week. While you,” Audrey said, motioning to Maddy, “wake up with a smile and find the good in everything. You don’t worry about the mundane, stupid things I do. You live freely and, because of it, wonderful things happen to you.”
Maddy grinned. “You mean like a sister who lets me live with her and not pay rent?”
“Exactly that,” Audrey said with a laugh. She was suddenly overcome with emotion and wiped away a tear that fell onto her cheek. “When I focus on things like my schooling or career, I can forget that I’m so lonely that the ache feels as if it’ll swallow me whole.”
In a blink, Maddy had her arms around her. Her sister squeezed Audrey tightly. “You don’t have to be lonely anymore. There is an amazing cowboy who has fallen hard for you.”
Audrey closed her eyes and cried harder—because she knew that her sister was right. Caleb was all she had ever wanted. Why had she let him walk away from her?
But she knew the answer. It was easier to be alone than to give her heart to someone and take a chance that it might not work.
As if reading her mind, Maddy said, “Take a chance. Something wonderful could come of it. But you’ll never know unless you take that leap.”
Audrey leaned back and sniffed. “What if he doesn’t want me now?”
“Oh, trust me. He does.”
“Did you talk to him?” Audrey asked hopefully.
Maddy shook her head. “It was the look on his face when he walked from the house.”
“Oh.” The tightness of Audrey’s stomach mixed with her nervousness. It would help if she knew for sure that Caleb missed her, but in the end, it boiled down to how much she was willing to risk.
The best days of her life had been with Caleb. Even with all the danger, his being there had made all the difference. And then, when they made love.… The very thought of him touching her could make Audrey’s stomach quiver with desire.
She wiped her face and raked her hands through her long length of hair. “I’m going to find him.”
“Um. Not to rain on your parade, but you might want to take a shower first. You’ve been in those clothes for two days.”
Audrey looked down and grimaced. Once again, Maddy had saved the day. “Thanks,” she said and rushed past her sister into the house.
She’d never taken a shower and changed so fast before. It wasn’t until she was in her SUV and driving off that she had time to think about what she would say to Caleb when she saw him.
After the way she hadn’t looked at him, or even responded to the things he’d told her, she might have to go to extremes to make Caleb realize that she knew she was an utter fool but that she had finally seen the light.
Her nervousness grew as she ate up the miles. When she finally turned onto the drive that led to his house, her smile disappeared, and she actually feared she might throw up, she was so anxious.
She stopped the vehicle and put it in park. As she turned off the ignition, she looked around for some sign of Caleb’s red truck, but she didn’t see it. Still, she got out and went to the house. When she spotted the busted door, she got worried.
“Caleb?” she called.
There was no answer, so she tentatively stepped inside. It didn’t take her long to confirm that the house was empty. She walked to the barn, but once more, there was no sign of Caleb. She did find a teenager bringing feed out to the paint stallion, though.
“You lookin’ for Caleb?” he asked.
Audrey nodded. “I am. Is he around?”
“He took off a few hours ago. Not sure when he’ll be back.”
Audrey started to reply, but the teen turned his back to her to continue his work. Not wanting to bother him, Audrey made her way back to her SUV.
Inside, she set her hands on the wheel and asked herself, “Now what?”
She could wait at his house, but that seemed … almost stalkerish. She could go to Brice and Naomi’s or even try Abby and Clayton’s, but she didn’t really want anyone else around when she saw Caleb for the first time. Especially since she wasn’t sure what would happen.
Audrey shook her head and started the vehicle. She should just go home.
* * *
“What do you mean she’s not here?” Caleb asked Maddy.
The younger Martinez sister sighed dramatically. “If you would only lis—”
“I thought she’d be here,” Caleb said. He’d driven straight from the hospital to Audrey’s. It had never dawned on him that she wouldn’t be there. He’d just, well, expected it.
“—ten to me. I’m trying to tell you that she wen—”
“Don’t tell her I stopped by,” he said and turned on his heel.
“Caleb!”
He jerked to a stop after three steps and whirled around to face Maddy. He’d hadn’t known her that long, but he had never heard that angry tone in her voice before. “What?”
“What?” she asked, eyes wide. “What?!”
He swallowed and glanced around him nervously. “Did I say something wrong?”
Her eyes grew even bigger. “Unbelievable.”
Caleb frowned then. “What is?”
“I’ve been trying to tell you since you knocked on the door that Audrey isn’t here because she went looking for you.”
A smile erupted across his face. “Did she really? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Oh, God,” Maddy said forlornly while rolling her eyes. “I think I might hit you.”
Caleb wrapped her in his arms for a quick hug. “I’m going to find her.”
“Just stay here!” Maddy called after him.
But he didn’t want to take the chance that Audrey was waiting for him at the ranch. Caleb had the truck in drive before his door was even shut.
* * *
Audrey drove, all the while wondering if she should have stayed at the ranch. All she had to do was call him, but after what had happened, their first conversation shouldn’t be on the phone. It needed to be in person.
A pedestrian along the side of the road caught Audrey’s attention. As she passed him, she turned and looked over her shoulder. There was something about him that looked familiar.
Without hesitation, she turned around on the road. As Audrey drew closer, she realized why the man seemed familiar. It was his walk. The same slight limp that her father had from being kicked by a horse.
She pulled up behind him and put the vehicle in park, but she left the engine running as she opened the door. The man had no idea she was there. He kept walking, his thick black hair hanging over his face.
He carried a frayed brown backpack and had on clothes that had seen better days. Even without seeing his face, Audrey knew this was her father.
“Dad?”
The man stilled, his head snapping up. Slowly, he swiveled to face Audrey. The moment his dark eyes met hers, Audrey started to cry.
“Where have you been?” she demanded. “How could you leave like that?”
He walked toward her as cars zoomed past. He didn’t stop until he was a foot in front of her.
“Audrey,” he said, a small smile on his lips. His fingers briefly touched her face. “You and your sister have so much of your mother in you.”
Audrey couldn’t believe how thin he was. He looked horrible, but his eyes weren’t as haunted as they had been after her mother’s death.
“I’m sorry,” he continued. “I shouldn’t have left you or your sister. I just couldn’t go on without your mom. And I couldn’t take my own life.”
“So, what? You wanted the land to do it?”
He nodded. “That’s what I hoped for. But your mother wouldn’t let me die. I got sick this past winter after being caught in the snow, and some homeless people saved me. I stayed with them for a time, but I knew I had to come back to my girls.”
“Oh, Dad,” Audr
ey said and threw her arms around him.
He held her against him. “I was selfish. So selfish. I thought I couldn’t survive without my wife, but I never thought about you or Maddy going on without your mother or me.”
“It’s over,” Audrey said, crying harder. “You’re home now.”
“I have much to make up for.”
“And you can,” she said and leaned back to look at him. “Come. I’ll take you to my place. You can tell Maddy everything.”
Audrey was leading her father to her SUV when she glanced to the left and saw a red truck parked on the opposite side of the four-lane road. Leaning against the vehicle was none other than Caleb Harper.
“Who’s that?” her dad asked when he caught her staring.
“I’ll be back.” She took her eyes off Caleb long enough to check and make sure no one was coming before she began to cross the road.
She didn’t make it halfway before Caleb met her in the middle and pulled her back to his truck. The feel of his fingers linked with hers made her want to shout with joy.
Audrey couldn’t stop looking at him. He’d always been a hard one to read, and she still wasn’t sure what it was she saw in his eyes. He wouldn’t have stopped if he didn’t have feelings for her. Would he?
She hated not knowing.
“I’m such a fool,” she said.
At the same time, he said, “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
They shared a laugh.
“Go ahead,” he said.
Audrey licked her lips. “I don’t know where to begin. I’m sorry for the other day. I thought it would be better to remain alone than risk giving you my heart. But these past few days have shown me that I don’t want that. I want you.”
“I saw my mother today.”
Audrey had thought he might respond to what she’d just confessed, but since he didn’t, she asked, “Is that good?”
“I forgave her. Right before she died.”
“Oh, Caleb.”
He shook his head and took both of her hands in his. “It made me see that the pain I held in my heart stopped me from allowing myself to love anyone. She left us, but I thought it was because of me. I didn’t think I could be loved.”
“That’s not true,” Audrey stated.
Caleb’s brown eyes crinkled at the corners. “I know that now. You helped me see that. It was you who paved the way for me to see that, in order for me to move forward, I had to forgive her.”
Audrey was shocked. “Me?”
“You,” he said with a chuckle. “Don’t look so surprised. You’re an incredible person. I knew you were different from the first moment I met you. I don’t know when you took my heart, but it’s yours if you want it.”
Fresh tears rolled down Audrey’s face. “I do want it. I really do.”
“I don’t want to scare you off, and perhaps I should wait, but I want you to know all of it. I love you, Audrey. You are the light in the darkness, a blaze so bright and fierce that it will never go out. It called me home. To you.”
Audrey cupped his face in her hands. “If I’m the light in the dark, you are the rock that steadies me. You offer shelter and stability. Your touch, your kisses showed me what it was like to be loved. And to love.” She smiled up at him. “I love you, too. With all my heart.”
They clung to each other. Two battered hearts who had found comfort and healing in each other’s arms.
Life couldn’t get any better.
“Who is that man?” Caleb asked.
Audrey pulled away and looked across the road to her dad, who watched the events with a smile on his face. “My father.”
“Let’s get him home then.” Caleb lifted her hand and kissed it. “Together.”
“Together,” Audrey said.
As they crossed the road, Audrey knew that these were their first steps as a couple. There would be ups and downs, but they would fight for the love they’d found until the day they breathed their last.
Epilogue
Six months later …
Caleb lit the last of the candles and stepped back to look at the space. There were rose petals scattered on the floor from the kitchen into the bedroom and even up on the bed.
He cleared his throat and looked outside at the darkness. He caught a glimpse of his reflection and straightened his tie. The first time he’d worn a suit, he’d seen the way Audrey had looked at him—as if she wanted to devour him.
Pretty much the same way he’d looked at her when she wore the slinky red dress with the slit up her thigh.
Caleb felt his pocket where the ring was. He’d been thinking of this night for months. Every day with Audrey was full of love and adventure. They argued, but sometimes simply so they could have make-up sex.
As if they needed a reason for that.
He grinned, thinking about it. Audrey was his entire life. It boggled his mind that he had lived so long without her. Though it had only been just over six months since they met, it felt as if they had known each other for eons.
Caleb checked the champagne that sat in its bucket of ice. Audrey was due back any moment. She had taken over as the vet for both the Rockin’ H and the East ranches, which kept her busy. But not so busy that she didn’t spend time at the rescue or with other individuals’ horses.
The front door opened, and Caleb’s stomach clenched with nerves. He faced the bedroom entrance and waited for Audrey. Within moments, she stood there.
Her long hair loose about her shoulders, she took in the dozens of candles lighting the room and the rose petals. Then, her eyes landed on him.
“Oh, my,” she murmured appreciatively when she saw him in the suit. “And I look like this.”
He didn’t care that she was in jeans and a T-shirt. To him, she looked beautiful in anything. “Hello, sexy.”
She walked into his arms and smiled up at him. “Hello, handsome. This is … I can’t find the words to tell you how wonderful it is to come home to this.”
He smiled inwardly. Audrey had only moved in two months ago, but it hadn’t really been much of a change since she spent nearly every night with him anyway. The only difference was that her clothes took up the other side of the closet now.
“I just wish I looked as good as you,” she said.
He gave her a soft kiss. “You always look great.”
She rose up on her tiptoes and locked her arms around his neck. “You are a pretty spectacular man, do you know that? I’m so glad you’re mine.”
“I’ll always be yours.”
Her dark eyes searched his face. There was a slight frown on her lips. “Is everything all right?”
“It’s perfect,” he said. Then he stepped away from her and went down on one knee, withdrawing the diamond ring from his pocket. “Audrey, you’re the love of my life. I’ve never known happiness as I have these past six months. I want to spend the rest of my life with you as my wife. Will you marry me?”
She looked from him to the ring and back to his face. Her expression was blank. He worried that he might have rushed things. They had talked about marriage, so he knew she wasn’t against it. At least, he didn’t think she was.
A tear rolled down her cheek. Then another. And another.
“You always know what to say and do,” Audrey said as the tears came faster, now accompanied by a smile. “Yes. Yes, I’ll be your wife.”
His hands shook as he tried to put the blue diamond on her finger. Once it was on, she was in his arms—and the suit came off.
Caleb forgot all about the champagne as they lost themselves in each other. Tomorrow, they could celebrate and plan their future. Tonight, well, that was for loving.
Don’t miss more titles by DONNA GRANT
THE DARK KINGS SERIES
Dark Heat
Darkest Flame
Fire Rising
Burning Desire
Hot Blooded
Night’s Blaze
Soul Scorched
Passion Ignites
Smoldering Hunger
Smoke and Fire
Firestorm
Blaze
Heat
Torched
Dragonfire
THE HEART OF TEXAS SERIES
The Christmas Cowboy Hero
Cowboy, Cross My Heart
THE SONS OF TEXAS SERIES
The Hero
The Protector
The Legend
THE DARK WARRIOR SERIES
Midnight’s Master
Midnight’s Lover
Midnight’s Seduction
Midnight’s Warrior
Midnight’s Kiss
Midnight’s Captive
Midnight’s Temptation
Midnight’s Promise
THE DARK SWORD SERIES
Dangerous Highlander
Forbidden Highlander
Wicked Highlander
Untamed Highlander
Shadow Highlander
Darkest Highlander
THE REAPERS
Dark Alpha’s Claim
Dark Alpha’s Embrace
Dark Alpha’s Demand
Dark Alpha’s Lover
Dark Alpha’s Night
Dark Alpha’s Hunger
Dark Alpha’s Awakening
Praise for Donna Grant’s Sons of Texas novels
“This first-class thrill ride will leave readers eager for more.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Hero
“Dangerous, steamy, and full of intrigue.”
—Booklist on The Hero
“Grant’s dizzying mix of danger and romance dazzles … off-the-charts chemistry and a breath-stealing plot.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Protector
“Nonstop thrills and hot romance drive this story at a breakneck speed.”
—BookPage on The Protector
“Grant really packs on the intrigue and nonstop thrills, while the romance is steamy hot.”
—RT Book Reviews on The Protector
The Dark Kings series
“Loaded with subtle emotions, sizzling chemistry, and some provocative thoughts on the real choices [Grant’s] characters are forced to make as they choose their loves for eternity.”