by Lori Foster
With an invisible vise on her heart, and a lump in her throat, she reentered the kitchen and managed to dredge up a smile. Everyone looked up from the dinner table. “My dad is getting out of the hospital tomorrow.”
The expressions varied from surprise, concern, to expectation. Casey merely looked detached, and that confused her.
Emma folded her hands together over her waist. “I’m taking him, and my mother, of course, home to Chicago with me.”
Sawyer tossed down his napkin. Unlike his son, he looked far from indifferent. “You’re what?”
Honey’s eyes were wide. “Oh, but…” She glanced at everyone else, as if seeking help.
Morgan rubbed his forehead and muttered something under his breath. Misty fretted.
But Damon, damn him, looked at Casey with one eyebrow raised. “Well?”
Casey, sighing with long-suffering forbearance, left his seat to stand beside her. “I suppose I’ll be going to Chicago too.”
“What?” Sawyer pushed back his chair.
Morgan snorted. “Since when?”
“You can’t be serious,” Honey and Misty said in unison.
Emma gaped at him. “You’re not moving to Chicago!”
“Why not?” Casey shrugged, disregarding her shock. “I’d already decided that I wanted to switch jobs—which is what I was about to announce when you got your call.”
Everyone started to protest at once, but Casey didn’t let it stop him. He held up a hand, silencing one and all. “No, just hear me out. I enjoyed what I was doing up to a point, but now it just isn’t enough.” He winked at Emma. “Having Emma around helped me to realize what I really want to do.”
All eyes turned to Emma, making her gulp.
“Just what is that?” Sawyer finally asked.
“Financial planning. I had thought to open something up here, but…” He shrugged again. “Looks like it’ll have to be in Chicago.”
Emma’s mouth fell open.
Ceily pushed back her chair and joined those who were already standing, which was just about everyone. “I’m going to Chicago too.”
Damon dropped his fork and leaned back in his seat. “What the hell for?”
She blinked down at him. “Why, to be with you.”
“But I’m staying here.”
Emma and Ceily said at the same time, “You are?”
He scowled. “Yes, I am. I like it here.” He cleared his throat and, though Emma had rarely seen him this way, he looked uncertain. “I spoke to Jesse about buying his land. We’re working out a deal.”
Ceily’s eyes narrowed. “You spoke to my grandfather without telling me?” And then, with her eyes popping wide, added, “He agreed to sell to you?”
Damon joined the ranks of those standing. “Well, how else could we keep the land around and not have some city slicker throw a damn water park up?”
“You,” Ceily pointed out, “are a city slicker.”
“Not anymore,” he told her with satisfaction. “I was thinking along the lines of some nice tidy little rental cabins that would blend with the woods. Maybe ten or twelve of them. They’d be unobtrusive but lucrative.”
Everyone seemed to be holding their breath. Ceily crossed her arms over her chest. “If you stay here, I’m going to fall in love with you.”
Very slowly, Damon smiled. “Yeah?”
She gave a brisk nod. “And when I do, I’ll damn well expect you to marry me.”
His look so intimate, Emma blushed, Damon pulled Ceily close and kissed her. “It’s a deal.”
Casey threw up his arms. “Well, since that’s settled… Emma, how soon do we need to leave?”
Emma rubbed her ear, utterly befuddled. “Casey…” She looked around at his family, but none of them appeared willing to help. “You can’t leave here.”
“Why not?”
Logic remained just out of reach. She shook her head. “This is your home.”
“It’s your home too. But what the hell? We can make a home anywhere, right?”
Sawyer covered his mouth and, Emma suspected, a smile. She groped behind her for a chair. Honey rushed to scoot one beneath her before she dropped. Morgan gave her an encouraging nod.
They were all nuts. When she finally found her voice, it emerged as a squeak. “Uh, we?”
Eyes intent on her face, his sensual mouth tipping in a slight smile, Casey nodded. “Me and you.”
“But…it’s not just me.” He had to understand that. “It’s my mother and father and…”
“And me,” Damon said. He grinned. “I’m like a brother figure, don’t you know.”
Casey laughed. “And I’m not just me. Hell, Emma, this lunatic crowd—” he indicated the rapt faces of his family members “—is only a small part of the group.”
Morgan scowled at him. “I changed your diapers, boy, so don’t give me any lip.”
Sawyer choked on a laugh. “Are you hinting that you want some privacy, Case?”
He rolled his shoulders, trying to look indifferent—and failing. “Not particularly. I just want Emma to admit that she loves me.”
Her mouth fell open again. At this rate, she’d end up with a broken jaw.
Misty leaned over to put her arm around Emma. “Put him out of his misery, hon. Men hate to suffer, this bunch more than most.”
Putting her head in her hands, Emma laughed, or maybe she was crying, or a little of both.
Honey wrung her hands. “I really would hate to see Casey move away. But more than that, I’d hate to see him brokenhearted.”
They were all nuts. “Well, of course I love him.”
Casey beamed at her. “Way to drag out the suspense, Em. Naturally, I love you too. So, where do you want to live?”
There was a time, Emma thought while she fought her smile, when this situation would have totally disconcerted her. She’d have felt out of place, conspicuous. But now she reveled in the open love exchanged between Casey and his family. She wanted to be with all of them. She wanted to have kids who would join the others in the yard, running and playing, happy and carefree and secure in a way she’d never been able to be. They were a good family to be around—a better family to be a part of.
Tears filled her eyes and clogged her throat, making her voice thick. “I’d like to stay here.”
Until Sawyer and Morgan both slumped in relief, Emma hadn’t known they were so tense waiting for her answer. But to her surprise, Casey didn’t seem any more relieved with staying than he had seemed worried about leaving. He walked over to her and took her hand. “Now we could use some privacy. Feel like a boat ride?”
“Yes.”
“But you haven’t eaten!”
Casey kissed Honey on the top of the head. “Mind if we take it with us?”
Sawyer had already turned and begun packing food into a basket. “’Course she doesn’t.” He grinned at his son. “Leave B.B. here since he’s still playing with the kids. I’ll make sure he gets fed. And while you’re gone, Honey and Misty can start planning the wedding.”
Casey raised an eyebrow at Emma, and Emma laughed. They were overwhelming, wonderfully so. “Thank you.”
Rolling his eyes, Casey said, “You say thanks more than anyone I know.”
A mere half hour later, Emma found herself in the small cabin Casey owned, naked, beneath him, and thoroughly loved. Casey continued to nibble on her lips, her ear, her chin. The day was so warm, their flesh had melded together. Casey was still
inside her.
“You will marry me, won’t you, Em?”
She scoffed. “Like you ever had a doubt.”
Raising himself up, Casey stared at her with such a serious expression she got worried. “Doubts? You’ve filled me with more doubts than any man should ever have to suffer. You left here, when I never thought you would, leaving me to doubt if I’d ever see you again. You came back more wonderful than I thought possible, making me doubt I’d even still have a chance.”
“Casey.” How could he have been so silly? She’d been his for as long as she could remember.
“Damn, Emma, I love you so much it’s scary.”
“I love you too. I always have.”
“You did a very good job of hiding it.” He kissed her, sweet and gentle, then deeper until he had to tear himself away. He cupped her face, rubbed her temples with his thumbs. “I am so proud of you, Emma, but, God, it’s unsettling to know you built this happy life somewhere else, and damned if you didn’t constantly talk about running back to it. I kept wondering how long I could keep you here, if it’d be long enough to get you to fall in love with me again.” He gave her another hard kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. “Believe me, Em, I’ve had doubts.”
Emma squeezed him tight.
“Are you sure you’re okay with staying here in Buckhorn?”
She grinned. More doubts? “Yes. I love it here. I’d just convinced myself it didn’t matter because I thought I couldn’t stay.” Then she felt compelled to ask, “Aren’t you happy to be staying here?”
“I’m happy to be with you. That’s what matters most.”
“But,” she said, insisting on the truth, “you’d rather be here, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, I’d rather be here.”
“It won’t be easy, you know. Kristin and Lois have spread a lot of gossip…”
Casey grinned. “Everyone already assumes they’re just jealous—and understandably.”
“Because I have you?”
He laughed, squeezed her, shook his head. “No, goose. Because you’re so remarkable, beautiful inside and out.”
Emma lowered her gaze to his tanned shoulders. “There’s my mother and father to deal with.”
“And your possessive dog and dumb-ass Damon and—”
She slugged him. “Hey!”
Laughing, Casey rolled so she was atop him. “Just teasing. I like your dog just fine.”
She gave him a fierce scowl. “And Damon?”
Casey pretended to consider that, until Emma tweaked his chest hair. “Okay, okay! He’s a good guy. I like him, now that I’ve gotten used to him.”
“Really?”
“He loves you, and he’s in love with Ceily, so he’s okay in my book.” His teasing over, Casey pressed her cheek to his heart and held her there. “No family is ever perfect, Emma. We’ll make do with your folks, and you’ll work at putting up with mine, and we’ll have each other. Everything else will work itself out.”
EPILOGUE
Two Months Later
CASEY PUSHED THE recently repaired cabin door open and was nearly knocked off his feet by B.B.’s greeting. With his keen ears, the dog heard Casey’s approach before his car had rounded the last bend. By the time he reached the porch, B.B. was always waiting.
“Hey, boy. Where’s my better half?”
B.B. woofed, accepted a few more vigorous rubs, then ran outside to chase a squirrel. He seemed to enjoy the isolated surroundings as much as Emma.
Casey listened to the sound of running water and knew Emma was in the tiny shower. Since marrying her a week ago, he’d been about as happy as a man could get.
At her insistence, they’d moved into the remote cabin after renovating it a bit. Spotlessly clean, with walls, windows and roof repaired, it made cozy temporary quarters until Damon finished directing the builders on their modest house on the lake.
To Sawyer and Honey’s delight, they’d been convinced to move nearby, only a few acres away from the main house on the land the family owned. With Misty up the hill and Emma down, Honey claimed she had the perfect female company close by.
Casey tossed his suit coat aside, pulled his tie free and loosened his collar as he heard the shower shut off, replaced with the sounds of Emma humming. Seconds later she emerged from the bathroom in a long pink T-shirt, her hair wrapped in a towel. The second she saw him, her beautiful dark eyes lit up and she came to him for a kiss.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” she said, going on tiptoe to hug him.
It was the type of greeting he’d never tire of. Casey took her mouth in a long, deep kiss before slipping his hands beneath the bottom of the shirt and cuddling her bottom. “Mmm…” he said. But before he carried her off, they needed to talk. “How’d it go today?”
“Actually, it was great.” She stepped away to the refrigerator and poured two glasses of iced tea. In silent agreement they wandered out to the screened porch and sat in the new pair of rattan rockers bought for just that purpose. B.B. took a leap off the dock—something he’d begun doing only days after they’d moved in, then waded up on the shore, shook himself off and plopped down in the sun to dry.
“The nurse is terrific and Dad really likes her. She’s firm but friendly. Even Mom is grateful to her for the help. I think she still worries about Dad, even though he’s doing better.”
With Sawyer’s help, they’d located a home health-care aide to take over Dell’s physical therapy and keep him on a healthy diet by supplying both breakfast and dinner. Her presence freed up Emma’s time, a necessity since she’d opened a massage therapy salon in Buckhorn, and found herself booked solid almost every day.
Emma’s mother had stayed sober since that eventful day in Mrs. Reider’s parking lot, much to Emma’s relief. They were both trying to get along, though Casey doubted they’d ever be close. But now they were civil, and little by little they were building a tenuous relationship. It was a start.
Casey looked at her profile then set his tea aside. “Come here,” he told her, catching her hand and pulling her into his lap. “You were too far away.”
She smiled up at him. “Quit stalling. Tell me how things went with your grandfather.”
He winced, but ended it with a grin. “We negotiated. I agreed to stay on as a consultant for the new hires in my department, and he agreed he wouldn’t ask more than four days a month from me.”
“Sounds doable. And like it might appease him. I know you didn’t want any hurt feelings.”
“He was so set on making me his heir.”
Emma curled into him. “And you tried.”
There was no refuting that. But he wasn’t cut out for the corporate life, not when his roots were so entrenched in Buckhorn. “I think he’s refocusing on Shohn.” Casey laughed. “And if I know my little brother, he’ll be running the business by the time he’s twenty.”
“I don’t doubt he could if he set his mind to it.”
Shohn had been the best man at their small wedding, and he’d also danced at the reception with every female in attendance. For a ten-year-old, he was an outrageous flirt and bursting with confidence. The women doted on him, calling him cute and audacious and adorable—a chip off the old block. Shohn just grinned throughout it all.
“You’ll set your business up soon?”
“Yes.” Since leaving Chicago, her life had been constant turmoil. Between the issues with her parents, relocating her home and work, the wedding, she’d barely
had time to relax. More than anything, Casey wanted things to settle down into a calm routine. “I’ll finish up two more weeks with Granddad so my replacement can make a smooth transition. My new office ought to be ready by then and all the advertisements will have been distributed. By the time the house is built we should be all set.”
Resting her head on his shoulder, Emma said, “You don’t need to make promises to me, Casey. The new house, the new jobs…they’re a nice start, and I’m happy about them. But I’ll always be happy, no matter what, as long as I have you.”
Casey turned her face up to his so he could see her beautiful dark eyes. They were filled with love, all for him. Though Emma thought his life had always been blessed, he knew he’d just been passing time without her.
His grin started slow, but spread. “You know, sweetheart, though it’s usually your line, I have to say thank you.”
Tilting her head, she laughed. “What are you thanking me for?”
“You came back home to me, Em. You gave me a second chance to have the only woman I want. You gave me back me, because without you I was only half-alive.”
Her eyes were enormous, sexy, shining with love. “Casey.”
“I love you so damn much. Just as you are, just as you’ve always been, and however you’ll be in the future. You’re mine. Now and forever.”
* * * * *
Don’t miss the next book in Lori Foster’s sizzling new LOVE UNDERCOVER series! Turn the page for a sneak peek of BARE IT ALL, coming soon from Lori Foster and Harlequin HQN!
CHAPTER ONE
AS SHE CAME toward him, Alice’s baby-soft hair hung loose, with silky tendrils drifting over her shoulders. Her big brown eyes, so innocent and yet so aware, watched him intently, the way she always watched him. She smiled and that smile did remarkable things to him. Made him ravenous, when he’d never quite experienced anything like that before. Lust, sure. But such a powerful need? No, never.