by Jill Sanders
“We should take her to the hospital and have her X-rayed,” Ryan suggested after they’d taken a few steps.
“No.” She stopped. “Please, I just want to go home.” Then she remembered how her place had looked and shivered.
“How about a hotel instead?” Ryan suggested.
She nodded and smiled slightly.
“I’ll have some clothes sent over,” her father said, waving down an officer. “Would you take my daughter and Detective West to the nearest hotel?”
The officer nodded and walked to his waiting patrol car.
“I’ll stop by in the morning. I still have some work to do here.” He nodded towards the house.
“I should—” Ryan started saying.
“No, Chief Zane has made it clear that he’ll get with you in the morning.” He nodded towards a man who was yelling at a few officers across the yard.
Ryan chuckled. “I don’t know if I can stand being yelled at right now.” He looked down at her and smiled. “Besides, your dad seems to have everything under control.”
She nodded and followed him to the patrol car. They sat in the back seat in silence, holding one another as they were driven back into town and straight to the nearest hotel.
Ryan checked them in, and she followed him blindly as he helped her into the small room. There was one large bed and a television set on a stand, nothing more, but the shower was large enough for the both of them. Without a word, she pulled him into the room and helped him peel off the ruined clothes.
When he pulled down her jeans, she hissed as the cool air hit her knees.
“Oh, princess.” He sighed. “Looks like we’ll need to clean these up.”
“Later,” she said and stepped out of the denim. Then she pulled him back up to her. “Right now, all I want is the hot water and you.”
When they stepped into the hot water, they both moaned. He used the washcloth and soap to gently scrub her skin clean. She tried to do the same for him, but he shook his head and did it himself.
“I can’t seem to stop shaking,” she said and looked up into his eyes.
“You’ve been through so much in the last few hours.” He pulled her close and she heard him sigh. She wanted more than anything to forget everything that had happened, and she knew exactly how to make it happen.
Reaching up, she took his face in her hands and pulled him closer to her. When their lips met, she melted and started to shake for a different reason.
“Nikki,” he whispered against her lips. His head and arm hurt like crazy, but the moment her skin touched his, the pain disappeared.
“Please, Ryan. I need you,” she whispered against his skin as her mouth moved over him.
There was no denying the fact that she was good for him. He moved his arm around her and held them up against the slick shower wall. When she gripped his hair, he winced slightly at the pain.
“Sorry.” She laughed slightly. “I’m so sorry.” She pulled back and gently ran her fingers over the lump he had there.
He shook his head. “Maybe we should do this horizontal. I think we’ve been knocked around enough today as it is.”
She laughed and nodded. He helped her step out of the shower and frowned down at her scraped knees. He knew they needed to be cleaned, but she shook her head and smiled at him.
“Later.”
He wrapped her in one of the large hotel towels and started drying her long hair with another.
“I wish I had a comb.” She smiled up at him.
“We’ll get some stuff tomorrow.”
“Ryan…” Her eyes told him of her impatience.
He smiled and walked her backwards towards the large bed. “Yes, princess?”
She smiled at him. “You know, I think I’m getting used to you calling me that.”
“Oh? I guess I’ll have to change it up every now and then.”
“No, don’t.” She pulled him close and as they kissed, they fell back on the bed together.
He wanted to show her tenderness, especially since she was bruised and cut up. But her hands moved over him with urgency, building up his own needs quickly.
When she wrapped her legs around him, he couldn’t stop himself from pushing inside her softness, from enjoying the smell and feel of her wrapped around his every sense.
Her moans were sexier than anything he’d ever heard. When he felt her convulse around him, he let himself follow her as he told her exactly how he felt about her.
They lay in the bed for what seemed like hours. When his skin was cooled and his heart rate back to normal, she rolled over and leaned over him.
“Did you mean it?” Her blue eyes sparkled and her lips were swollen from his kisses.
“What?” He reached up and brushed a strand of her wet hair away from her eyes.
“What you said.” She smiled.
He chuckled. “Did you?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He nodded and smiled. “Yes.”
She laughed. “Now what?”
His smile matched hers. “What do you want to do?”
“Hmm, well, I don’t want to go back to my place. At least not until I have everything in it burned.” She sat up and crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you see that they’d gone through my underwear drawer?” She shivered as he nodded.
“What about Fairplay?” he suggested.
She turned to him and smiled. “Yes, I’d like to go back there.” She sighed.
“What would you say to getting our own place there?” He leaned up slowly and sat next to her. When he moved to put his arm around her, he cringed a little and knew that he had a bruised rib for sure.
She frowned at him, but he shook his head. If she could ignore her injuries for a night, so could he.
“I’d love to find a place of our own. I was thinking about looking for a different job there. Maybe helping the department out somehow.”
“Yeah, I’d talked to Sheriff Miller about a job earlier.”
“And?” She looked at him, waiting.
He shrugged his shoulders and caught himself before he cringed this time with pain. “He told me there was a job waiting, when I was ready.”
“In a town so small?”
He smiled. “It would be a state trooper job. There’s where Wes works, too.”
“Oh,” she smiled. “That sounds perfect.” He could see her mind working and took a hold of her hands.
“No.” He shook his head.
“What?” She looked over at him while biting her bottom lip.
“I don’t think I want you to get a job there,” he said, frowning.
She smiled at him. “I’m not sure I can handle the excitement after today,” she said and leaned back against his shoulder. “Besides, I am just a few classes away from my teacher’s certificate. Dealing with a bunch of kids sounds a whole lot safer than tracking down cheating husbands.”
He smiled and rubbed her hair between his fingers and dreamed of what their children would look like. “That does sound like fun.”
Chapter Eighteen
It took a few days to clean up the mess before they were allowed to head back up to Fairplay. A bag of fresh clothes had been delivered to their hotel room, thanks to her father.
Nikki’s knees were only scraped up and bruised, nothing broken. They had swollen up to twice their size by the next morning, causing Ryan some alarm when he noticed them. But after she’d propped them up with cold packs, the swelling had gone down and he stopped threatening to take her to a doctor.
They had been shuttled down to the station where they spent several hours explaining everything. Then he had filled out all the paperwork needed and had given them notice that he was leaving the force.
He’d called Reece and his cousins and updated them on everything. Reece had wanted to come down there and help out, but Ryan talked him out of it since his wedding was only a few days away. He assured him and Melissa that they would be back in town in time for the ceremony.
He had a job prospect already waiting for him and Nikki had talked about finishing her teaching degree online. When he thought of her in a room full of kids, he smiled.
“What?” she asked. She was sitting in the passenger seat, her feet up on the dash, as he drove through the rain.
“I was just thinking about you in a room full of kids.” He chuckled. “I think I’d rather be in a room full of drug addicts than in a room full of ten-year-olds.” He smiled over at her.
She giggled. “I don’t know, I’ve always thought that there would be something very fun about working with kids.” She looked over at him.
When they drove back into Fairplay, he felt a zip of excitement run through him. When he looked over at Nikki, he could see it in her as well.
“It’s kind of funny; it almost feels like we’re coming home.” She smiled over at him and he nodded.
“Fairplay has always given me that feeling, but now even more.” He pulled in front of Mama’s and stopped. “How about some food before we head back?”
She smiled. “You read my mind.”
When they walked in to the diner, all conversation stopped and every eye turned their direction. Then there was a loud cheer and people jumped up and shook his hand and hugged Nikki.
Jamella came rushing out of the back room, and when she saw them, a huge smile crossed her face.
“Well, dar’s our two town heroes. Come on in here and sit.” She walked over and guided them to a clean table. “Lunch is on da house.”
Everyone cheered again, and Ryan couldn’t help but smile. Only in Fairplay would they get a hero’s welcome for doing their part to take down one of the most powerful drug lords in Texas.
By the time they walked out of the diner, they had answered more questions than they had down at the station. Even his brother and cousins had shown up, causing them to remain at the diner long past lunchtime.
“It’s almost dinnertime,” Nikki chuckled as she got into the car.
“Yeah.” He smiled. “Maybe when we get home we can have these”—he nodded to the huge plates of food Jamella had packed up for them”—and watch a movie.”
She smiled at him. “Sounds perfect.”
They drove through town and headed towards the ranch house. It really did feel like he was going home. He needed to start looking for a place of their own, and he still had a lot of questions about their future, but one thing was certain—he wanted Nikki by his side for good.
He glanced over at her and smiled when he caught her looking at him.
“What?” he asked, watching the road again.
“I was just thinking how different you are from the first time I saw you.”
He chuckled. “It’s the lack of hair and the beard.”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s you. You’ve changed.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, when I first saw you, you were a lone man. You gave off this attitude that you wanted to be alone all the time.”
“And now?” He glanced at her.
“I’ve never seen you happier than when you were surrounded by everyone back there. You belong with those people. They love you.”
He thought about it and nodded slowly. “I guess I’d gotten used to being alone. I had Reece growing up and when I moved to the city, I had a few partners to rely on. But after starting to work the Hijo del Diablo case, I had only myself. Then you came along.” He smiled at her. “And now we have the family.”
She nodded and rested her head back. “It feels good, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.” He stopped the car in front of the little house and then pulled her close across the center console of her car. “Everything feels right now.” He leaned down and kissed her.
Nikki stood in the kitchen and frowned. It was the day before Reece and Melissa’s wedding, and everyone was rushing around like madmen. Lauren, Alex, Haley, and Holly were all bumping into one another. Melissa was sitting at the table drinking a cup of iced tea. The men were in the other room with all the kids. She could hear them watching a ball game and playing with the kids.
The place was louder than she’d ever heard it before. The whole house smelled like home-cooked heaven, and Nikki’s stomach growled as she stepped into the kitchen where the women were chatting and laughing as they cooked. As she stepped in, everyone glanced over and smiled at her.
“Oh, good you’re here,” Lauren said, pulling a huge pot of chicken from the stove. “You can help Haley peel the potatoes. We still have three bags of them to go.” She nodded to where Haley sat with a huge bag of potatoes between her legs and a bucket of skinned ones next to her.
“Sure.” She walked over and sat down next to Haley. “Wow, it’s busy in here.”
“This is nothing. Just wait until tomorrow morning.”
“I thought the wedding was going to be at the church.” She looked around at some of the decorations that were hanging around the house.
“It is, but Reece wanted the reception here. There’s enough room for the whole town to eat outside. We’re getting a couple bouncy castles and some slides to entertain the kids. We’re even going to have pony rides and a petting zoo, thanks to Grant.”
“Where are you going for your honeymoon?” Nikki asked Melissa.
“Reece won’t tell me.” She smiled. “He’s planned the whole thing out himself.”
“I know.” Haley smiled over at them. “But I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”
Melissa and Nikki chuckled.
“Does it feel good to be back?” Haley asked as they continued to peel the potatoes.
“Yes,” she sighed. They had settled back in the house and she was thankful she had a suitcase of new clothes they had brought from Houston. “It’s nice to have a few of my things this time.” She smiled.
“So are you really selling your place in the city?” Melissa asked.
“Yes, I didn’t even want to sleep there. Not after the break-in.”
“I’ve heard it can be hard to recover from that sort of invasion.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I think it was more of just wanting that part of my life to be over. Helping my dad with his business worked for a while, but I was starting to get bitter. You know. Most of what I did was find proof of cheating spouses.” She looked down at the potato in her hands.
“I can see where that would turn someone away from a relationship.”
She shrugged her shoulders again. “Yeah.”
“The Wests are different,” Melissa chimed in. She reached across the table and took Nikki’s arm until she looked up at her. “None of them are built that way, and neither are the people they’ve found.”
“It’s in our genes.” Haley smiled. “We’re destined to be happy with our spouses for life.”
“Oh?” She smiled at the women.
“Yup, in the history of West marriages, there’s never been an unhappy one. Never,” Lauren said from across the room. “My father always said, ‘There are a few things you can count on in life: taxes, death, and the love of a West.’” Everyone in the room chuckled.
By the time they were done in the kitchen, the sun had already set. When she walked out on the front porch, she smiled at Ryan who was holding a sleeping boy in his arms as he rocked on the front porch swing. He looked good with a child in his arms.
She moved over and sat next to him. “Which one is this?” she asked, brushing a finger over the boy’s soft hair.
“Conner.” He held up the little boy’s feet. “Dallas Cowboy socks.” He chuckled. “Reece swears he can tell them apart, but I have a hard time with it unless they’re wearing these. Cooper always wears Houston’s colors.”
“Good to know.” She smiled.
“So, I guess you are officially acc
epted into the family.” He smiled at her.
She looked at him in question and he chuckled.
“You did just spend the better part of a day helping my cousins out in the kitchen, right?”
She nodded and continued to look at him.
He shook his head. “You know, for an ex-PI, you sure don’t see the obvious things.”
“What are you talking about?”
He chuckled and shifted the sleeping baby so he could put an arm around her shoulders. “Nikki, you were asked to help out in the kitchen. Not feed a baby, or babysit, or set out dishes, but really help. My cousins only ask for help from family. And… now you’re family.” He smiled.
She remembered that when she’d first arrived almost two months ago that she’d wanted to help, but Lauren had told her only family helped out. She thought of the day in the kitchen in a whole new light and leaned back against Ryan’s shoulder and smiled.
“I like our family,” she said and then chuckled.
“They like you, too.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
Epilogue
Ryan watched his brother in the mirror and felt like laughing. He’d never seen Reece look more nervous in his life.
“Relax, bro, it’s just the end of your life as you know it.” He patted him on the back.
“Funny.” He smiled at him in the mirror. “Real funny.” Then he turned on him. “So, when are you going to ask Nikki?”
He laughed. “Ask her what?”
His brother shook his head. “Really, you’re that ignorant?” He turned back to his reflection.
“Marriage? So soon?” Ryan asked, but then he thought about it and it started to make sense. Why not? He knew he wanted to be with her, and besides they were already moving in together. When it was right, it was right, no matter how much time had passed.
Reece chuckled. “Thinking it over, huh?”
“Maybe.” He smiled at his brother as they walked out of the dressing room and headed down stairs.
When Ryan stood at the front of the small church next to his brother, he couldn’t stop looking over towards Nikki, who was sitting in one of the front rows with little Laura on her lap. She was trying to keep the little girl from pulling her earrings but failing miserable. He smiled at her. Then the music started and he watched with great joy as Reece married the woman of his dreams.