“Aw, thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you, though. You’re the famous artist.”
He frowned. “Hardly famous,” he said as he pulled her onto the boardwalk and they passed the general store and the saloon. He stopped in front of an empty store and reached into his pocket for a key, pushing the door open and holding his arm over the threshold as he tipped his hat. “After you.”
She strolled into the small space. It wasn’t as big as the general store or the saloon, and she’d never noticed it was empty before now. The walls were covered in rough pine and the floor was polished oak. It was lovely, with big windows lining the boardwalk, a small room in the back and the scent of pine lingering in the air.
“What’s this?”
He turned from the window, and her heart tugged at the look in his eyes. He looked like she imagined he might have as a young boy—full of hope yet trepidation. “I’m hoping it’s an art gallery.”
Her breath hitched in her throat and she looked around again, visualizing just how perfect it would be to show off his talent. He was so humble about his art—he’d never once mentioned wanting to have a gallery.
“You sure deserve it, Tony. You’re the best artist I’ve ever met, and your work deserves a showcase like this. I’m thrilled for you,” she said as she walked along the big windows on the boardwalk that she knew would let in the right light to make his paintings come to life.
He came up behind her and reached his arms around her waist. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder, imagining the gallery full of his paintings, and guests coming to buy them.
“Actually, I know an even better artist, and I was hoping that she’d join me. You know, a dual-artist gallery. Landscapes and portraits.”
Her eyes grew wide and she spun around. His dimples were deep and his eyes danced as he held up his arms and spun slowly in a circle, his boots shuffling on the oak. “What do you think? Partners? You could do your landscapes as well, but I bet there’d be a big demand from guests for portraits, using River’s End Ranch for the setting or not. Just like the Murphys.”
She took in a deep breath at the thought. She’d wanted to own a gallery her whole life, and here he was offering a partnership in one—with the best artist she’d ever met.
“I—I don’t know what to say. I never actually thought I’d be part of a business—although I had always hoped.”
“I suppose you got a business degree for a reason. We’ll have to run some numbers, but I’m betting it could be a viable business. And I can keep my job as head of security until we see how well we’re going to do. Plenty of time to get things up and running before the summer rush.”
Now she did know exactly what to say. “If you want to take a chance on me, I’d be thrilled to be your business partner, Tony.”
He laughed and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Okay, that’s the first part, partner.”
“First part?”
He dropped his hands and drew in a deep breath. His eyes didn’t leave hers as he shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted from boot to boot.
“Mira, I know we technically haven’t known each other long, but you have to admit, with all that’s happened, it feels like an eternity.”
She laughed, and pushed his shoulder. “That doesn’t sound very good.” It hadn’t sounded quite like a compliment, but with all they’d been through, he wasn’t exactly wrong.
He flushed, smiling as he took off his hat and looked at his feet. “You know what I meant. Frogs, gnomes, your mother—you have to admit, it’s been eventful.”
“My mother is definitely in the same category as those disasters, that’s for sure,” she said.
He smiled and reached for her hands again, pulling her toward him and wrapping his arms around her.
“For all it’s been, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want it to be like this forever.”
“All this commotion?” she asked, tilting her head up to meet his eyes. Certainly he couldn’t mean that. Before she arrived, she knew he’d liked his life the way it was...work, paint, sleep. This past week had been anything but that. Any of it.
“Well, maybe not all of the commotion, but you. I want the you part.”
She sighed and rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat—so steady and strong.
He gripped her shoulders and pushed her back, his dimples deepening as he fell to one knee and reached into his pocket.
“And I want it forever. Mirabelle Walters Banks, will you marry me?” he asked, holding up a black, velvet box. He opened it and she gasped—it was the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen.
Her hand flew to her mouth and she caught her breath. Never in a million years when she’d seen this handsome man in his sheriff’s uniform had she thought that she’d be his...or that he’d be hers, a true protector, cheerleader and husband.
She reached for his hand and pulled him to his feet, feeling like the luckiest woman in the world. She yanked off her left glove and extended her hand.
“Nothing would make me happier, Antonio Morales,” she said as she smiled and wiped away a tear.
He pulled off his gloves and slipped the ring on her finger—skin on skin—and said, “It was my mother’s. Grandma slipped it on my nightstand the day you came and made enchiladas. Guess she knew something that I didn’t—yet, anyway. That we’d be family.”
“Family. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. Thank you for wanting to be mine.”
He pulled her close and pushed his hat back, leaning in until they were nose to nose. “I guess I’m a slow learner, but better late than never,” he said before he pulled her closer, his warm lips on hers. “Family. Forever.”
She closed her eyes, sinking into the warmth and safety of his arms, intending to stay there forever.
Epilogue
It hadn’t taken long for Mira and Tony to put the gallery together, and Wade had thanked them especially that it would be open for the Christmas season. “People have been asking to buy Tony’s art for years and years, and they’ll be thrilled to have them as gifts for Christmas,” he’d said. “And if they can have portraits of themselves or their kids—all the better.”
Mira couldn’t believe how quickly things had fallen into place after Tony had proposed, shown her the gallery and told her that all he wanted was her, and he’d make everything all right.
“Everything looks wonderful,” Dani said as she held out her arms toward the walls. “The two of you have so much art work together, it’s unbelievable.”
“They do nicely together, don’t they?” Kelsi said as she handed Dani a cup of coffee from the refreshment table Sadie had put together for the opening.
Mira squeezed Tony’s hand and he squeezed right back as they exchanged a look and smiled at Kelsi and Dani as they went off to look at the seascapes on the far side of the gallery.
Mira spun around in the middle of the gallery, looking up at the paintings covering the walls, on easels, on display in the center of the room.
“Be careful, you’re going to get dizzy,” Tony whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her.
“I think I’ve been dizzy since the first time we met. Whether you knew it or not.” She rested her head on his shoulder for a moment before she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing one of her favorite parts of him—his dimple.
“You two look so happy. And so does Gorgeous George,” Jaclyn said as she walked up with Graciela.
“Thank you for lending him to us for the opening, Jaclyn. He was my first portrait, and I owe him a great deal. It’s nice to have him smiling down on us.”
Tony’s grandmother stepped closer, resting a hand on each of their cheek’s. “It’s a lovely thing you’ve done here. Your mother would be so proud.”
Tony wrapped his hand around his grandmother’s and his fiancée’s and nodded for Jaclyn to follow. He pulled them over to a corner of the gallery that he had been working on, special
lighting shining on the portrait that Mira had given him.
Her heart swelled as his grandmother and Jaclyn both gasped as they reached the portrait. “Oh, my Lord, it’s Josephina,” Graciela cried as she reached in her sleeve for a handkerchief, dabbing at her eyes.
“My goodness,” Jaclyn said as she wrapped her arm around her friend’s waist. “It looks just like her. Your daughter was so beautiful.”
“And so is my future granddaughter,” Graciela said. She rested her warm hand on Mira’s cheek again and closed her eyes. “I never thought I would be so lucky, or my heart so full again. Thank you, Mira, for making us a family once more.”
Mira’s breath hitched in her throat as she hugged her new grandmother, warmth flooding through her. As she pulled away, she said, “Thank you for embracing me, and giving me the family I never thought I’d have.”
“Mira and I will be bringing it home for you after the opening, Grandma. It’s just here for now,” Tony said as he pecked his grandmother on the cheek.
“Oh, my,” Graciela said, her hand on her chest. “I’m terribly honored.”
“Speaking of honored,” Wade said as he approached the group, “Mom and Dad are going to love this. All of these pictures of the ranch that guests can buy, and being able to commission their own—it’s remarkable.” He pointed to the wall where Tony had placed Mira’s portrait of the Murphy boys. “When the boys saw the picture I sent to them, they asked if they were famous, and I had to tell them that they, in fact, were.”
“I told Mrs. Murphy she’d get the original after the opening, and she was thrilled,” Mira said as heat crept into her cheeks.
“Thanks for that,” Wade said as he nodded to Jaclyn and Graciela. “I’m really happy for you guys, and the gallery is a great addition to the ranch.”
Graciela and Jaclyn had headed over to the refreshment table and a loud laugh caught Mira’s attention. She looked over and saw a tall man talking to a small group of women, all listening, laughing and some batting their eyelashes.
“Who’s that?” she asked. She still didn’t know too awful many people—and Tony knew everyone.
“Oh, that’s Elf, the mechanic. Dink’s brother.”
“Who’s Dink?” she asked, confused.
“She’s married to Jace. The accountant.”
“Oh, my gosh, never mind. Keeping track of the people at River’s End Ranch is going to keep me dizzy for a while.”
“I don’t think so,” Tony said as he nuzzled her ear. “It doesn’t matter, though. You have a long time to meet everybody.”
She turned and looked up into his brown eyes, his dimples in rare form with his wide smile and she rested her head on his heart.
“In fact, you have forever.”
Read on for a sneak peek at the next
River’s End Ranch book:
Baker’s Bob
by Kirsten Osbourne
Sneak Peek of Baker’s Bob by Kirsten Osbourne
Chapter One
Miranda White had already been up for over two hours. It was just past five in the morning, and it was a typical day for her. She stacked the cookies she’d made for the café into a huge bakery box, mumbling under her breath. “Bob had better not complain about these cookies. They’re perfect just like they are. I swear I’ll stick one up his nose if he starts in on me this morning.”
She taped the box shut before pulling on her warm winter coat. December at River’s End Ranch had never been warm. It had never even been moderate! Idaho was not the place to live if you were a wilting flower where snow was concerned.
She pulled on gloves and wrapped her scarf around her neck. Picking up the bakery box, she stepped out into the cold wind. Trudging through six inches of snow to deliver cookies that were going to be griped about when she arrived was not her idea of fun. “Do I tell him how to make a burger? Of course I don’t. But there he is…grumbling about the way I make my cookies. My cookies are perfect just as they are!”
By the time she’d reached Kelsey’s Kafé, she’d worked herself into a true anger. She was done taking any flak from that man concerning her cookies. She’d do what she did best, and he could do what he did best. It was a simple as that.
She was ready for a fight when she pushed open the door of the café, walking straight to the counter and setting the box down. “Morning, Kelsi! I brought your cookies.”
Kelsi grinned at her. “Thank you so much.”
Miranda eyed Kelsi. “You look very happy this morning.”
Kelsi sighed happily. “I just love Christmas. Can’t you feel the love in the air?”
“Sure?”
A voice from the kitchen bellowed, “Is that Miranda? I need to see those cookies before she leaves!”
“The cookies are perfect, Bob! You need to get off my back!” Miranda shouted back at the cantankerous chef.
Bob came out of the kitchen, and without even a word of greeting, he opened her bakery box. He picked up one of the cookies and counted the chocolate chips. “Twelve. There are twelve chips. How many times do I have to tell you that you need fifteen? We have a business to run here, and we do not need skimpy cooks.”
It was all Miranda could do not to climb over the counter and hit him. “My cookies are perfect just the way they are. They don’t need more chocolate chips! I’m not going to keep arguing with you about this. I don’t tell you how to cook, and you don’t tell me how to bake. Comprende?”
“This is my café. People expect the food to be held to a certain standard. These cookies are sub-standard.” He folded his arms over his chest, glaring at her.
Miranda closed her eyes and counted to ten. “There are days when I want to hit you over the head with my rolling pin, Bob Blakely!”
“And there are days when I want to force feed you your inferior chocolate chip cookies! So what?” Bob leaned onto the counter between them. “Are you trying to pick a fight with me, Miranda?”
“I’m trying to get you to see reason. People don’t count chocolate chips in their cookies. Only you do that. Real people eat the cookies, and they enjoy the combination of flavors. They don’t need to be beaten over the head with chocolate!”
Bob looked at Kelsi. “Tell Wade we need a new baker. This one is obviously unwilling to accept constructive criticism.”
Kelsi bit her lip, obviously trying not to laugh at the two of them. “Do you want breakfast this morning, Miranda? I can have Bob whip something up for you before you head back to the bakery.”
Miranda smiled sweetly. “That would be really nice. I’ll have two eggs over medium, hash browns, bacon, and orange juice.”
Bob turned and walked to the kitchen, mumbling under his breath. “With arsenic on the eggs. Got it.”
“I heard that!” Miranda called to Bob.
“You were meant to!” Bob called back.
Miranda took one of the stools at the counter, shrugging out of her coat. “I don’t know how you can work so closely with that man and not murder him.”
Kelsi shrugged. “He’s not that bad when you’re not around.”
“Hard to believe.” Miranda took the juice Kelsi put in front of her. “How are you feeling? You’re really starting to show.”
Kelsi turned to the side, putting her hands on her belly. “I’m huge! I love every second of it. I mean, my feet hurt, but who cares? I have this amazing little girl growing inside me.”
“Have you and Shane picked a name yet?” The last Miranda had heard, Kelsi was calling the baby Wilhelmina, but it was Herberta before that, and Shania before that.
Kelsi frowned. “Not yet. He’s killing me. He doesn’t like any of the names I pick! I’m growing her. I should get to pick the name, right?”
Miranda silently agreed with Shane. All of the names Kelsi chose were ridiculous. “You should definitely have a say in the name of your child.”
Kelsi glared at Miranda, obviously catching her caveat in the statement. “Well, Zsa Zsa and I like my names just fine.”
“Zsa Zsa?” Miranda couldn’t help but grin. “That one is just as special as all the others.”
“I like it! Doesn’t it make her sound glamorous?”
Thankfully Bob came out with her breakfast then, putting it in front of her. He stood and watched her pick up her fork. “I’m not going to eat with you watching me, Bob.”
“I think you’re the most stubborn woman I have ever had the misfortune to meet.”
“Coming from you, that’s a compliment. Go away, Bob. I’m tired of your bad attitude and complaints.” She took a bite of the eggs, sighing. “What seasoning did you put on these?” The eggs were amazing, as was everything Bob cooked. If he wasn’t such a marvelous chef, she’d have hired a hit on him months before. He made her that crazy.
“Like I’m going to give you my secret.” Bob grinned as he turned away from her. Sometimes these short moments in the morning when he got to torment Miranda were the highlights of his day.
“Someone forgot to teach you manners, Bob Blakely!” Miranda watched as he walked into the kitchen without another word. “That man would make a saint start cussing.”
Kelsi grinned. “This is true. Very true. You should come to my house for dinner and card games tonight. It’s been a long time since we had anyone over.”
Miranda shrugged. “Sounds like fun. Don’t forget my early bedtime, though.”
“Mine is early too. Let’s start at four.”
“I’ll bring dessert.”
Kelsi’s eyes widened. “Zsa Zsa likes sugar and a lot of it.”
When Miranda was finished, she leaned forward so she could drop her voice. “Find out what Bob puts on his eggs.”
Kelsi giggled. “The seasoning?”
“Yup. I have to know.”
Miranda found herself grinning on her way back to the bakery. A good fight with Bob was the perfect way to get her blood pumping in the mornings. She’d have to take a different kind of cookie to the bakery tomorrow. That way he wouldn’t be able to complain about the chips. Her eyes widened as she came up with the perfect thing. She’d prep them today and bake them first thing in the morning. Bob would have a fit!
Mischievous Maid (River's End Ranch Book 15) Page 9