by Sara Orwig
“Well, I wasn’t for a while there, but I’m going to try to change that. Thanks, Gabe. You are a brother.”
As Gabe drove away, Marc called Lara but she didn’t answer again. He was just going to go camp on her doorstep because he wanted to straighten things out. Actually, he better apologize to her and see if she would take him back. He was so in love with her. How could he have been so blind and let her go?
He turned around to head to her house in Dallas. He was tempted to just go get her and take her home with him, but he was certain she would have her own ideas.
He banished the thought that floated at the edges of his mind. What if she wouldn’t even let him back in her life?
Ten
As Lara walked through her living room, she saw a familiar car turn into her drive. Her heartbeat quickened, speeding again when she watched Marc come bounding up the drive, crossing her porch. Wearing jeans, a thick brown sweater, his boots and a black hat, he looked sexy, strong and so appealing. She rushed to open the door, but before she could speak, he swung her up into his arms and kissed her.
She wrapped her arms around him and held him, closing her eyes when his arms went around her. “I’m glad you’re here.”
He set her on her feet. “I have some big-time apologizing to do.”
Perplexed, she stared at him. “Apologizing for what?” she asked, her heart beating even faster as surprise rocked her. “What are you doing here?”
He took her hands in his.
“First of all, I love you with all my heart.”
His words took her breath away. “I’ve dreamed of hearing that from you, but we have—”
He put his finger lightly on her lips. “Listen to me. I love you and I apologize for being so damn bullheaded. You want to go to med school, I can support you. I hope I get to see you sometimes, but you’re my wife and I want to keep right on being your husband.”
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” she whispered, wondering what had happened in his life to cause such a change. Her heart raced. “You love me and you can accept it if I go to med school?”
“Yes, and if that doesn’t work out, you’ll get some kind of doctorate.” He nodded at her and smiled. “I think that’s fantastic. At least, I think it is if it keeps you in my life. Lara, I have been in hell without you. You brought me back into the world and then I let you slip away. Well, I guess I ran you off. I’m sorry. I’ve been such a fool. Will you forgive me and take me back?”
Her heart raced and she couldn’t keep from laughing for joy. “Oh, Marc, of course I’ll take you back. How can I not? You’ll support my ambition and be a daddy to my baby.”
“From now on, darlin’, this is our baby. Okay?”
“I love you, Marc Medina. With all my heart.”
“And I love you. After the baby comes, if we can work things out with your schedule, I’d like to move to the ranch permanently. I got to thinking about what you said and I am happier at the ranch. Would you like to live there?”
“Yes, if it’s with you.”
“With me and with our baby. I’ll do anything I can to help you get into med school, to get the classes you need. You can go to your classes in the limo. Whatever it takes. I am so sorry I was so blind. I was about my mom. I was about you. Please forgive me.”
“I love you and accept all apologies. I don’t want to give it up, but what I’ve planned is to postpone going to school when the baby comes. I might take six months or I might take a year.” She laughed. “We’ll work it out. I’m not in a hurry, Marc.”
“That’s the best news possible, darlin’. I’ll support whatever you want to do.”
She laughed again. “I’ll hold you to that one.”
“I love you, Lara,” he said solemnly. “I missed you and I never want to go through that agony again. I was incredibly wrong. I should never have let you go out of my life and I never will again. I’ve been in hell since you left, and this time I’m not letting you go.”
“You won’t have to. You have my love completely and you’ve had it for some time now.” Her brows rose and she winked at him. “You’re a little dense about love.”
He grinned. “Maybe, but not about sex. Let me show you my talents.”
He kissed her then, and she felt it all the way to her toes. And she felt his love, too.
Smiling, she looked up at him. “Am I dreaming? I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Believe it, darlin’.”
“You know, little towns need doctors, too. I could live on the ranch and probably work in some small town out near Downly.”
“Whatever makes you happy and keeps you married to me.”
“I’ll be married to you forever,” she said. “Oh, how I love you.” She laughed before she stood on tiptoe to kiss him. She paused to look up at him.
“Marc, I think your grandpa knew what he was doing.”
Marc shook his head. “He probably did. He probably figured I’d find someone I’d love, and when I started living on the ranch, I wouldn’t want to leave it. He was a crafty fellow and managed to get his way a lot.”
“I’m glad I got to know him, even that little bit.”
“By the way, I told Gabe about my bloodline. He wants to bury that bit of info, which is just fine with me. I’m happy with his friendship. Actually, I’m friends with all the Callahan brothers and that’s good enough.”
“I’m so happy,” she said. She clung tightly to him, joyous and looking forward to the future. She leaned away and flashed her hand at him. Her diamond ring sparkled. “See, I’m still wearing my wedding band and I’m still married to you. I wasn’t going to take that off until that divorce was final.”
“It will never be final. You’re mine forever, sweetie. I love you more than I can tell you.”
He kissed her then, pulling her tightly to him and leaning over her. She clung to him while happiness made her tremble. She would have Marc in her life, her new little baby, and someday, she would be able to work somewhere to help sick people feel better as a tribute to her mother.
She leaned away and placed her hand on his cheek.
“I want to spend a lifetime showing you how much I love you.”
“Sounds like a good deal to me. Come here, my sweet wife.”
She smiled at him. Then she closed her eyes as he kissed her.
He framed her face with his hands. “I love you, Lara. From now on I’ll spend every minute of my life trying to make you happy.”
She hugged him. “You’ve made me so happy already.” She leaned back and looked into his eyes. “A couple of years from now, I want to be pregnant with your baby. I love you, Marc. I love you now and forever.”
She stood on tiptoe to kiss him as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. Joy filled her and she knew the biggest fortune she had was his love that she would treasure all her life. A life filled with his love and their children.
* * * * *
If you liked this story of love beneath the Texan skies,
pick up these other CALLAHAN’S CLAN novels
from USA TODAY bestselling author
Sara Orwig!
EXPECTING THE RANCHER’S CHILD
THE RANCHER’S NANNY BARGAIN
THE RANCHER’S CINDERELLA BRIDE
And don’t miss her other great Western romances!
TEXAS-SIZED TEMPTATION
THE TEXAN’S FORBIDDEN FIANCÉE
Available now from Harlequin Desire!
***
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Little Secrets: Claiming His Pregnant Bride
by Sarah M. Anderson
One
Of all the things Seth Bolton wanted to be doing today, attending the wedding of a guy he went to college with was pretty low on the list.
Besides, he hadn’t even liked Roger Caputo. Seth had been forced to live with Roger for three hellish months in college when Seth’s roommate had backed out and Seth had been desperate to cover the rent without asking his family for help. That Roger had been a senior and unable to get any roommate but a freshman should have been the first clue to how Seth’s three months were going to go.
It wasn’t that Roger was a bad guy—he was just a jerk. Entitled, spoiled, inconsiderate—every privileged white-guy stereotype rolled into one. That was Roger.
Seth couldn’t imagine who was foolish enough to marry Roger, but clearly someone was. Seth had no idea if he should pity this woman or not.
He gunned the engine up the incline, following the road as it snaked through the Black Hills. The wedding was supposed to start at five thirty—Seth was running late. It was already five forty and he had at least fifteen miles to go.
For some reason, the wedding was being held at a resort deep in the Black Hills, forty minutes away from Rapid City.
Why did people have destination weddings? Well, he knew why. The late-summer sun was already lower in the sky, casting a shimmering glow over the hills. They weren’t black right now, not with the sun turning them golden shades of orange and red and pink at the edges.
It was pretty—not that he was looking as he took the next curve even faster. Roger must’ve found one hell of a woman if she wanted to tie herself to him with all this beauty around her.
Or maybe the jerk had changed. It was possible. After all, Seth himself had once been the kind of impulsive, restless kid who’d stolen a car and punched a grown man in the face because the man had dared to break Seth’s mother’s heart. Sure, that man—Billy Bolton—had married his mother and adopted Seth, despite the punch. But still, that was the sort of thing Seth used to be capable of.
Maybe he was still a little impulsive, he thought as he flew down the road well over the speed limit. And yeah, he was definitely still restless. The last year living in Los Angeles had proved that. But he’d gotten good at controlling his more destructive tendencies.
So people could change. Maybe Roger had become a fine, upstanding citizen.
The road bent around an outcropping, and Seth leaned into the curve, the Crazy Horse chopper rumbling between his legs. This was a brand-new model, in the final stages of testing, and he was putting it through its paces. The new engine had throwback styling combined with modern power and a wider wheelbase. The machine handled beautifully as he took another curve and leaned in hard. Seth felt a surge of pride—he’d helped design this one.
Damn, he’d missed these hills, the freedom to open up the throttle and ride it hard. LA traffic made actually riding a chopper a challenge. And palm trees had nothing on the Black Hills.
His father and his uncles, Ben and Bobby Bolton, owned and operated Crazy Horse Choppers, a custom chop shop in Rapid City, South Dakota. Crazy Horse had been founded by their father, Bruce Bolton, but the Bolton brothers had taken the company from a one-man shop in Bruce’s garage in the early eighties to a company with sixty employees and a quarter of a billion in sales every year.
Seth had never had a father growing up, never expected that he would be a part of any family business. But when Billy adopted Seth ten years ago, the Bolton men had embraced him with open arms.
And now? Seth was a full partner in Crazy Horse Choppers.
He still couldn’t get his head around the meeting yesterday. His dad and uncles had called him into the office and offered him an equal share in Crazy Horse. And Seth was no idiot. Of course he’d said yes.
At the age of twenty-five, he was suddenly a millionaire. A multimillionaire. Considering how he and his mom had sometimes been on welfare when he was a little kid, it was a hell of a shock.
But Seth knew it wasn’t straight nepotism—he worked hard at making Crazy Horse Choppers a successful business. He’d just gotten back from living in Los Angeles for a year, managing the Crazy Horse showroom and convincing every A-to D-list celebrity that a Crazy Horse chopper was good for their image. And he’d excelled at the job, too. Getting Rich McClaren to ride up the red carpet at the Oscars on a Crazy Horse chopper—right before he won the award? Seth’s idea. The free advertising from that had boosted sales by eight percent overnight.
The McClaren stunt was the kind of strategic thinking that Seth did now. He didn’t just react—and react poorly. He planned. The best defense was a good offense.
Even now—he wasn’t just going to a former friend’s wedding. A quick internet search had revealed that Roger was a real estate agent now, part owner in his own agency. He was up-and-coming in the civic world of Rapid City. And after a year in LA, Seth was back in Rapid City. Maybe even permanently.
Seth was not going to this wedding to wish Roger and his new bride happiness, although he would. Seth was going to the wedding because he planned to be an up-and-comer himself. God knew that he had the money now.
The Bolton men might have given him a place at the table, but Seth was going to damn well keep it.
He screamed around a curve but saw something that made him ease off the throttle. There was a limo at a scenic overlook—but something wasn’t right. Seth couldn’t brake fast enough to stop without crashing, but he slowed enough to get a better look.
Something was definitely wrong. The limo was parked at a crazy angle, its bumper hanging in the roadway. Was there someone behind the wheel? He didn’t see anyone enjoying the view.
He was late—but he couldn’t in good conscience ride on. Seth pulled a U-turn on the road and headed back to the overlook. Did his phone even have service out here? Because if this wasn’t some crazy wedding photographer stunt and the driver was having an emergency...
The limo was still running when Seth pulled up alongside it. His heart leaped in his throat when he realized that the front wheel on the passenger side wasn’t exactly on solid ground. The driver had stopped just before the wheel went off the edge of the overlook completely. Hitting the gas would mean certain death.
He hopped off the bike and hurried to the driver’s side. He hadn’t been wrong—there was someo
ne behind the wheel. A woman. Wearing a wedding dress and a...tiara?
Definitely not the limo driver.
She wasn’t crying, but her eyes were wide as she stared at nothing in particular. Her color was terrible, a bluish shade of gray, and she had what appeared to be a death grip on the steering wheel. Basically, she looked like someone had shot her dog. Or ruined her wedding.
For all of that, she was quite possibly the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
How many brides were wandering around this part of South Dakota? Was this Roger’s bride? If so, what was she doing here? Where was Roger?
He knocked on the glass of the driver’s-side door. “Ma’am?” he said in what he hoped was a comforting voice. “Could you roll down the window?”
She didn’t move.
“Excuse me? Ma’am?” This time, he tried the handle. Miracle of miracles, the door was not locked. When he opened it, she startled and swung her head around to look at him. As she did so, the limo shuddered. “Where did you come from?”
“Hi,” Seth said in a soothing voice, hanging on to the door as if that could keep the car from plummeting off the side of the hill. “I’m going to turn this off, okay?”
Her eyes blinked at different speeds. “What?”
Seth leaned into the limo, keeping an eye on her in case she started to freak out. The limo was actually in Park, thank God. She must have taken her foot off the brake when he startled her. “I’m Seth,” he told her, pulling the key from the ignition. “What’s your name?”
Seth didn’t expect her to burst out laughing as if he had told a joke. Clearly, this was a woman whose actions could not be predicted. Then, as quickly as she’d started laughing, the sound died in the back of her throat and she made a strangled-sounding sob. “I’m not sure.”