Army Ranger with Benefits (the Men of At-Ease Ranch)

by Michaels, Donna

  Those two had a similar relationship to him and Emma. If they could work it out, then surely he and Emma would.

  “I, Jovy Larson, take you, Stone Mitchum, to be my lawfully wedded husband,” Jovy said, gazing into Stone’s eyes. “And Lula Belle to be my awfully, dreaded cow.”

  Lula Belle mooed.

  The guests chuckled.

  Before long, rings were exchanged, and after slipping a ring on Stone’s finger, Jovy dug in the pocket of his tux and pulled out a carrot that she placed in the palm of her hand and held in front of the cow.

  Lula Belle sniffed it, looked at Jovy, then turned around.

  “Oh, sweetheart.” Jovy shook her head. “You do not want to show me that end of you while I’m holding a carrot.”

  Snickers went through the guests.

  Stone snatched the carrot from his bride and shoved it back in his pocket.

  When it got to the part where the bride and groom kissed, everyone clapped. Then the reverend had them turn to face the crowd.

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

  The guests cheered.

  Lula Belle mooed.

  “And cow,” the reverend added with a grin.

  Then, with a huge smile on Stone’s face, he walked down the aisle, new bride on one arm, and cow under his other hand. Chuckling, Vince escorted a smiling Beth to the back. That was definitely not your typical wedding ceremony, but it’d been the perfect one for his friends.

  Two hours later, after everyone had eaten, and the bride and groom were mingling, Vince checked to make sure there was still enough food in the trays and Sterno cans in the heaters should anyone want seconds or thirds.

  “All packed for tomorrow?” Leo asked him.

  Vince smirked. “Haven’t really unpacked.” He hadn’t had the time…or the heart.

  “Or called her yet?” Jovy drew near with her arm around her new husband, but minus the cow, who was banned to the outside of the tent. “You do know women love phone calls, right?”

  “Especially from men who apologize,” Beth said, joining them with her arm around Brick.

  Haley and Cord rounded out the gang. “And tell you they love you,” she said.

  Many times over the past two days, Vince had stared at his phone, finger hovering over Emma’s number, but he always shoved it back in his pocket. “The things I want to say should be said in person,” he reminded them.

  Jovy quirked a brow. “Remember the ‘women love phone calls’ part?”

  “Yeah.” Beth nodded. “Especially if it shortens our grief.”

  “And I’m betting with you leaving like you did, Emma’s hurting,” Haley said.

  His gut twisted. He didn’t want Emma hurting. That was the last thing he ever wanted. Prolonging their talk so he could do it in person was also prolonging her pain.

  Dammit. He was such an idiot.

  Determined to put an end to it right now, Vince pulled out his phone and hit Emma’s number. Better to do things over the phone—to explain himself—than to have her hurting any longer.

  If she was indeed hurting.

  It started ringing…and echoed behind him.

  His heart slammed to the ground. That sounded close. As if she was… He stiffened and slowly turned around. “Emma?”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  God, it was good to see him.

  Emma’s heart throbbed in her throat, where it had leaped the instant she’d spotted Vince standing off to the side, talking with the bride and groom and several others.

  Awareness rippled through her body. The man she loved—the man she’d traveled half the day to see—stood a few feet away, in a tux that fit his lean form to perfection. He made it look good…and her heart flutter out of control.

  The best thing about him—besides the fact he just tried to call her—was the hope and affection lighting his eyes.

  The same emotions rushed through her.

  “Hi, Vince,” she finally said, stepping closer. Nothing else made it out, even though she had so much to say. So much to tell him. So much to ask him.

  “I can’t believe you’re here.” A smile tugged at his lips as he shoved the phone into his pocket.

  “You have a magic phone, Vince.” Another guy wearing a tux, a tall guy, smirked. “You should’ve called her sooner.”

  Vince nodded. “Damn straight.” Then he introduced her to everyone.

  She smiled when she saw a familiar face. “Hi, Leo.”

  “Hey.” He smirked. “What took you so long?”

  Feeling a little more at ease thanks to their warm welcome, she turned to the bride. “I’m so sorry for crashing your wedding.”

  Jovy smiled and waved a hand. “Are you kidding? This is the best present. I’m thrilled that you’re here. Carry on.”

  Beth stepped forward. “Okay, everyone. Let’s give them some privacy.” The pretty woman made a shooing motion with her hands. The group backed up about ten feet, but continued to watch.

  Emma didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was telling Vince what she’d traveled there to tell him. Turning to face him fully, she took a deep breath, and it seemed to dislodge the words stuck in her throat.

  “I came here to tell you I’m sorry, Vince. I should’ve t—”

  He stepped close and placed a finger over her lips. “You don’t have anything to apologize about. I was the one in the wrong. You don’t have to say anything else.”

  “But I need to tell you things,” she said against his finger.

  Smiling, he removed it to cup her chin. “Emma, the fact you came here tells me all I need to know.”

  Tears filled her eyes. The man was so damn sweet. She swallowed and shook her head. “But you deserve the words, Vince.” She tilted her face into his hand and kissed his palm. “All of them. I’m sorry I never told you how I felt. I started caring about you—and not Stephan—before our first real date. I should’ve told you then, but I didn’t realize how deep my feelings ran until you left.”

  “I have feelings for you, too,” he said. “I thought I was doing the right thing, stepping back so you could have a chance with Stephan. I’m so sorry.”

  Her heart was eating up every single syllable.

  “I thought I was being selfless,” the wonderful man continued. “Until my friends made me realize why I’d really left. I was scared.” He released her and exhaled. Pain and guilt darkened his gaze. “When I was young, I lost someone I loved.”

  She nodded, her heart squeezing tight. “Connie.”

  His eyes widened.

  “Dom told me this morning,” she said. “Don’t be mad at him, though. He was just trying to help me understand why you left. He suspected it was because of her.”

  And it’d made all the difference in the world.

  He blew out another breath and nodded. “After Connie died, I closed myself off. Buried everything deep.” He lightly brushed her cheek with his thumb. “But you made me feel things, really feel them, for the first time in over a decade.” His happy gaze turned haunted. “I don’t know, I guess self-preservation kicked in, and I subconsciously tried to save myself from that pain again. But, Emma, being here—without you—it was the same kind of pain. Unbearable. That’s why I was flying back to Columbus tomorrow.”

  Her pulse leaped. “You were?”

  “Yes,” Leo chimed in. “I was driving him to the airport in the morning.”

  “I was miserable,” Vince said. “I needed to see you, to talk to you and work things out.” Fierce affection warmed his gaze, and her heart swelled so much she thought it might burst. He cupped her face, as if he couldn’t stop touching her. “I’m so glad you’re here, Emma.”

  “Me, too.” She smiled, covering his hand with her own. “I should’ve told you how I felt. Should’ve told you I was falling in love with you.”

  Joy erased the remaining darkness from his expression. “You love me, too?”

  “Yes.” Wait…too? Her heart rocked. “What do you mean, �
�too’? You love me?”

  His gaze softened. “I do. I love you. I just realized it too late. Maybe if we would’ve talked about all of this, we could’ve figured out a solution to be together, instead of hurting ourselves and each other.”

  She nodded.

  “We’ll figure things out.” He smiled, dropping his hand to her shoulder. “Commute. FaceTime. Whatever it takes.”

  Emma smiled. “I’d like that. Very much. Because I want you in my life, Vince. I want a real relationship with you. A real everything with you.”

  “Good answer,” Brick said behind him.

  “Shh…you big galloof, I can’t hear,” Beth whispered.

  Vince’s gaze softened, and his hands trailed up her arms. “I want all those thing with you, too. I want to be in your life. I’m not going away. You’re stuck with me.”

  Finally.

  She’d finally found someone who stuck. Someone who left Georgia behind, but not her.

  With the last of her fears and hang-ups vanquished, she held nothing back, letting him see she was happiest in his arms. Setting her palm on his chest, she smiled up at him. “You said the S word. I love it when you talk dirty.”

  He grinned. “‘Stuck’ isn’t a dirty word, or scary. Especially if it’s with you. It’s part of that glass three-quarters full,” he murmured before brushing his lips over hers for a slow, achingly sweet kiss full of promises and hope and love.

  And Emma felt the love—so much so her legs shook, and she had to clutch at his tux to keep upright. When the kiss ended, she drew in a breath and glanced over his shoulder at a flash of movement that caught her eye.

  “Um…” She blinked to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. “Why is there a cow eating the bride off the wedding cake?”

  A gasp filled the air as Jovy twisted around. “Mother-heifer!” The bride picked up the skirts of her gown and rushed toward the cow, her husband and Beth in tow. “Drop it! Dammit, Lula Belle! If you don’t drop it, I swear I’m divorcing you right now.”

  Divorcing?

  Still holding her in his arms, Vince turned his attention back to her, a big grin on his face. “The cow’s in love with Stone. She wants Jovy out of the way so she can have him for herself.”

  Emma smiled. She had the feeling she was going to fit right in. “That’s adorable.”

  “Jovy doesn’t think so.”

  They laughed.

  After a few seconds, Vince sobered. “I can’t believe you came. Did you have a good flight?”

  “Yes, but I had to hurry to catch the commuter,” she said, playing with his bow tie. “I’m a bit thickheaded. I didn’t have my epiphany until I was in Stephan’s car on the way to the gala brunch this morning. All I could think about was I didn’t want to go.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I wanted to be with you. So, I had him turn the car around and drive me home so I could pack. Then I asked him to take me to the airport.”

  He stilled. “Stephan drove you to the airport to see me?”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “He felt bad for making you leave.” She nodded at the question in his eyes. “He told me he’d talked to you. So it seemed only right that he fix it by driving me to the airport.”

  “Oh, I like her.” Haley snuggled against Cord and gave her a thumbs-up.

  Vince’s gaze turned serious. “Emma, I think you should know I don’t have my own house. I live in the main house with Jovy and Stone and Leo.”

  “That’s okay.” She smiled. “It doesn’t matter to me where you live. Just that you want to continue to see me.”

  “Another good answer,” Brick said, adding in an overly loud voice that reminded her of Macy. “Good thing Vince is part owner of a construction company who happens to be really good at building houses, like the one they’re building for me and Beth right now.”

  “Yeah,” Cord said, just as conspicuously. “He also happens to be part owner of this ranch, which has plenty of acres for another house.”

  “Okay, okay.” He grinned at the men. “I’ll keep that in mind. But right now, Emma and I are in no hurry. We have all the time in the world. We’re going to do this the right way.”

  She patted his chest and regained is attention. “Exactly, and do you know why?”

  “Why?”

  Her lips twitched. “Because you think I’m adorable, and I think you’re hot.”

  “God, I love you.” He kissed her again, this time long and deliciously deep. She didn’t care that his friends stood just a few feet away, but she was glad for the air-conditioning in the tent because her body temperature spiked.

  Mrs. Henderson had told her Vince was a keeper, worthy of being hers, and the wise woman had been right. Emma had found a man who wanted her with him, who loved her, and she felt the same way. He was so much more than her dream man. He was her everything.

  When Vince broke the kiss, he set his forehead to hers, his heart beating strong and sure under her palm. “Promise me you’ll hold that thought until later.”

  There were a lot of things she was ready to promise him.

  Sliding her hands up around his neck, she smiled into his dimpled face. “Anything for you.”

  Epilogue

  The day after Christmas, Vince stared up at the ceiling, Emma’s hot, naked, satiated body draped over him while they worked to catch their breath from an incredibly good morning. It was his favorite way to wake up—buried deep inside the woman he loved while she sighed his name.

  Rise and shine, indeed.

  Several amazing months had passed since they decided to have a real relationship. He and Emma had jumped in with both feet, FaceTiming every night, and once a month, he’d fly to Georgia to spend several days with her, and she’d fly to Texas to stay with him a few days at a time, too. But each visit, they found it harder to part, until last month when they decided they didn’t want three states between anymore. She’d jumped right in at the ranch on her visits, so on Thanksgiving, he asked if she’d consider moving to Texas.

  He’d been thrilled when she said yes.

  As of last week, after her lease had run out, she was fully moved in, thanks to Dom and his buddies helping them pack up her house in three days.

  A shaft of guilt ricocheted through Vince’s chest. He felt bad for taking her away from his brother. The only person Dom trusted and relied on to watch over his place during deployments.

  “Mmm…” She kissed his neck and sighed, sending goose bumps down the right side of his body.

  Yeah, Dom could find another friend.

  Besides, with the house empty, maybe the new renter would be someone just as trustworthy as Emma.

  She reached for her phone that dinged with a text on the nightstand. “Oh my God.” She laughed, the vibration shaking through her sweet curves straight into him.

  “What’s up?”

  “Macy. She sent a picture of the outfit she bought for Dupree to wear when they come next weekend. A bolero, shiny snakeskin cowboy boots, and…is that a ten-gallon hat?”

  Vince glanced at the screen and smiled. “Yes, ma’am, it is. I take it she still thinks At-Ease is a working dude ranch?”

  “Yes. Despite the fact I repeatedly told her it wasn’t.” Her sigh washed over him. “She said, and I quote, ‘We can’t wait for the full dude ranch experience.’ Boy, is she going to be disappointed.”

  “Nah.” He took the phone out of her hands and set it back on the nightstand. “This is a ranch, and there are a lot of dudes on it. I can pretty much guarantee her visit is going to be an experience.”

  “Yeah, but for who? Her and Dupree? Or everyone here at the ranch?” She laughed.

  He trailed a hand down her spine and over the sweet curve of her ass. Damn, she was soft. “Guess we’ll find out.”

  “Hey.” She snickered, pushing his hands away. “You’re going to make me late for work.”

  “It’s okay,” he said against her temple. “I have a good relationship w
ith your boss.”

  When Emma had tried to give notice at work, they asked her if she’d be interested in transcribing remotely from home. She was her own boss and didn’t have a set start and stop time, just a deadline to get the work handed in. Being able to keep working with everyone at the practice, albeit remotely, seemed to make leaving her coworkers and Macy a little easier.

  On the days she wasn’t transcribing, Emma helped Vince out in the kitchen because he’d officially handed over the baking reins to the amazing woman.

  His amazing woman.

  Setting her palms on the bed near his head, she lifted up to smile at him. “Do you now? How good are we talking?”

  “Good enough to do this.” In a swift move, he rolled them to the edge of the bed and rose to his feet with his arms full of soft, warm woman. “I figured if I gave you a hand in the shower, you might…finish…quicker. Then you could keep your boss’s schedule.”

  “Good thinking,” she said, kissing his neck. “I appreciate your helping…hand.”

  “My pleasure.”

  It was his pleasure, and his joy to have Emma in his life.

  Setting her down in the shower, he stared into her warm gaze. “Happy?”

  “Very.” She trailed a hand up his body. “I’d never wish your brother ill will, but God, I’m so glad you came to help him out back in August.”

  “Me, too.” Running his finger across her temple, he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Never in a million years could I have imagined I could be this happy,” he told her honestly. “Thank you for taking a chance on me.”

  “Thank you for not leaving me behind.”

  That broke his heart.

  “Never, Emma. I’ll never leave you behind.” Reaching down, he grabbed her hand and set her palm on his chest. “You’re in here. You’re a part of me. It’d be like leaving my heart behind. No can do. I need it to survive. Need you to live.”

  She smiled a watery smile. “I love you so much.”

  Emma lifted up on tiptoe to capture his lips. And in her kiss, he tasted the salt of her tears, and in her tears, he tasted the promise of forever.