In spite of his preoccupation with having her in his bed, he’d learned more about Danielle than he’d ever thought possible. And he’d discovered just how deeply his love for her ran. His love was something he would never escape, and if she refused him now, he would spend the rest of his life alone.
With a sense of deep relief, he found her red sports car parked at one of the more exclusive hotels in the area. Jace smiled grimly, hoping she’d charged it to her father’s account. The old man deserved to receive the bill. Simmons deserved a lot more, but right now, Jace was only interested in winning back his wife.
After a short argument at the registration desk, he had the information he needed. Anticipation flowed through him, making his nerves hum with the possibilities, while dread hovered nearby. Stopping to purchase a peace offering, he impatiently waited for an elevator.
With a feeling of wry amusement, he knocked on the door of the honeymoon suite. According to the clerk, it had been the only room available on such short notice. Jace preferred to think of it as Fate holding out a helping hand for a change.
When Danielle opened the door, Jace observed the ravages of her grief, her suffering stabbing at him like a physical pain. In his arrogance, he had pushed her to the brink of collapse. Dark circles rimmed her eyes, an unnatural flush colored her cheeks, and her shoulders slumped.
When she saw who was at the door, she stiffened. “Jace.” Her eyes closed briefly, shutting off his view of liquid green eyes. “What are you doing here?”
From behind his back, he produced the single white rose he’d purchased in the lobby. “We need to talk.”
She stared at the flower as if it were something poisonous. He wanted to remind her he was Prince Charming rather than the wicked stepmother, but she didn’t appear to be in any mood for humor.
Actually, neither was he. He just wanted to see her smile again, to see her eyes sparkle with delight instead of defeat.
After a long moment, she reached out and accepted the flower, a gesture that gave him hope. She could have slammed the door in his face.
She refused to meet his gaze. “I suppose you want to come in.”
“I’d rather not talk in the hallway.”
She nodded and stepped away from the door, the closest thing to an invitation he suspected he was likely to receive.
Danielle studied the rose carefully, avoiding any eye contact. She traced one soft petal with her finger. Jace experienced a wave of disappointment when he realized that she had completely closed off her thoughts and feelings from him.
He used to know what she was thinking almost before she did. For once, he couldn’t read her, couldn’t begin to predict how she would react. Even though she’d left the locket as a message, terror clawed at him. It was always possible he’d misinterpreted the message. This was his last chance to win her heart.
He opened his mouth to offer an apology just as she started to speak. “I realized something this afternoon.”
He waited, silently encouraging her to continue, yet afraid of what she might say. If she told him now that she didn’t love him, couldn’t live with him again, he wasn’t certain he’d have the strength to walk away.
“All these years, I thought I was a strong, independent woman.” Her soft laugh held a bitter note. “I was working hard, being promoted regularly and living the life I thought I wanted.” She stopped to pull a deep breath into her lungs. “Now I realize every move I made was being carefully orchestrated by my father. By dangling an empty promise in front of me, he kept me out of Wyoming and away from you.”
She raised her gaze to meet his. The pain reflected in the green depths made him ache for her. He wanted to protect her from the disappointments of life, to shield her from any emotional pain. He wanted to draw her into his arms and assure her everything was going to be all right now that he knew he loved her.
“He always said that when the time was right, I would take over as company president. But that time would never have come, would it?”
Jace shook his head, his heart breaking for her unrealized dreams.
Her voice became even softer. “My father must be a terribly lonely, insecure man. For too many years, we only had each other. I think he’s afraid of losing me if I fall in love with my husband.”
Tightly controlling the urge to drag her into his arms and beg her forgiveness for his own lack of faith, Jace waited, instinctively knowing she needed to get this out of her system before they could move forward. But she seemed to have run out of words as the silence stretched between them.
He’d almost given up hope when she spoke again. “Why does my father hate you so much?”
It was Jace’s turn to stiffen, to wall her off. But as soon as he realized what he was doing, he forced his muscles to relax. If he was going to convince her he was willing to offer her his trust, he had to start now.
Struggling with shadowed emotions from his childhood, a tangled mess only a deserting mother and an alcoholic father could leave behind, Jace somehow made himself speak. “He never told you the family history?”
She shook her head.
“Maybe it’s better left in the past.”
“I need to know everything, Jace. Don’t leave me in the dark any longer.”
Her plea held a double meaning that made him believe they stood more than an even chance. A chance he desperately wanted.
“The Farrells and the Simmonses had business dealings at one time. Your father and my father. To put it simply, the deal went sour, but my dad managed to profit from it.” He waited a heartbeat, not certain how she would react to his words. “Your father didn’t.”
“Oh dear.”
Jace twisted his lips in agreement, but there was no humor in his smile. “Exactly. Your father can’t stand to lose. My father ended up with the land where my—our—house now stands.” Jace dropped his head forward, remembering those last years with his father, remembering taking care of a drunken old man who had given up all hope. “It was probably the only thing in his life he’d ever done right.”
Jace wanted to stop now. The past had haunted him for too many nights.
“Your father admitted to me later that he thought his precious daughter was just infatuated with the poor guy from the other side of the tracks. He never believed it would develop into anything serious. When you announced our engagement, your father couldn’t bear the thought of a Farrell in the family. He told me I would never amount to anything more than a drunken failure, just like my father.”
Jace swallowed the fear building in his throat. She had to hear the entire story. Only then could they start fresh. But he also ran the risk of losing her forever if she didn’t believe him.
When she made no effort to halt his words, he continued. “So your father set me up. He knew I was desperate for capital. The carrot he dangled was an offering to lend me enough money to get on my feet. He insisted he wanted to see you living in the style you were accustomed to.” Jace glared at the ceiling, self-loathing making the next words difficult. “I bought the whole story.”
After taking a calming breath, he dared to look at her, wondering at her reaction. She had given up so much in the past to please her father. Could she change her beliefs about the man who’d raised her? Could she give up her childhood dreams? An unnameable emotion brewed in her green eyes.
Danielle crossed to him. He ordered himself to stand still as she drew close. He couldn’t gauge her thoughts, wasn’t certain if she meant to slap him or hug him.
She raised her gaze to his. “I think Daddy wanted me to marry Raymond because he was safe. I could never fall in love with a man like that. And if I didn’t love my husband, I would still be Daddy’s little girl.” Her mouth tightened. “It didn’t seem to matter if I was happy or not.”
With one finger, she traced his mouth. Hope began to blossom even though he hadn’t heard the words he desperately needed her to say.
“When I left Jackson, I thought I knew what love was. I also thought
I never wanted to experience it again. It hurt too badly.”
He opened his mouth, wanting to stop her, to apologize for any pain he’d inadvertently caused. But she pressed a finger against his lips, halting his words.
“After spending these past few days with you, I’ve realized that I didn’t know what love really was.”
Hope shriveled and died before ever seeing the light of day.
Her smile was fleeting. “I think we were too wrapped up in the great sex to think about anything deeper.”
“So that’s all it was between us, great sex?” The words singed his throat.
She didn’t answer, causing his doubts to escalate. “I’ve never reacted to a man the way I do to you.” Frowning, she slowly raised her eyes to meet his. “You scare me. You confuse me.” She paused. “I’m not sure I can live the rest of my life like that.”
Her words told him nothing. He was fed up with playing games, tired of dancing around the issue. Their future could be decided with three little words. Her reaction would tell him everything he needed to know.
“I love you, Danielle.” He waited, every cell in his body pausing to hear her response.
Her eyes had been fixed on the buttons of his shirt, but at his words, her gaze jerked up to meet his. The tears that had been hovering on the edges of her lashes since he’d arrived spilled over, washing over her cheeks.
Her mouth opened but she couldn’t force out any words. Finally, she swallowed the emotion clogging her throat. “I’ve been waiting to hear you say those words for eleven years, cowboy.” Joy burst through her, filling her so completely that the pain of her father’s betrayal faded. Delighting in the feel of his hard body so close to hers, she twined her arms around his neck. “And I love you.”
She waited, but he didn’t speak, just watched her, all his love reflected in his blue eyes. She could bask in that look for the rest of her life with no effort.
“I want to be your wife. I want to raise a family with you.” The next words brought pain just in the thinking, but she had to be certain. “If you’ll still have me.”
His arms remained at his sides and the doubts quickly crept in. He’d finally said that he loved her, but maybe it was too late. Maybe her lack of trust had ruined any chance for them to continue with their marriage.
Those doubts were swept away when he wrapped his arms around her and crushed her close. Just before his mouth covered hers, he murmured, “I love you, Dani girl. Get used to hearing it. I plan to tell you at least ten times a day. And I plan to show you, too.”
His kiss was both a plea for forgiveness and a vow of eternity. Danielle met his tongue eagerly and plucked open the buttons of his shirt, anxious to touch him, to feel his skin next to hers.
He moaned against her mouth and backed her toward the bed, a place she went willingly. Slowly, reverently, he removed her clothes, driving her need for him to new heights. Their coming together was a healing of past hurts, and when he whispered of his love for her, she could only believe this would last a lifetime—a sentence she would gladly serve.
Afterward, she slept peacefully in his arms, intertwined with him for an eternity of love.
As the sun peeked over the horizon, Jace woke her with exploring kisses. Even after a night filled with an affirmation of their vows, she was eager to love him again. But when she reached for him, he pulled away.
“Up, lazybones.”
She groaned. “I know you don’t have to feed the cows and we have the room until noon, so what’s the rush?” She tried to tuck the covers back under her chin, the chill of the room washing away the sleepy sensuality she’d been savoring.
He bent down and nipped her ear, then whispered, “I want to share the sunrise with you. I want to tell you I love you again with the mountains as our witness.” He kissed and teased her lips until she was more interested in something else besides getting out of bed.
But he tugged the covers away. With a touch of disappointment, she noted that he had slipped on his blue jeans. As she stood, he held out her pink silk bathrobe, tying it at her waist. Urging her to the window, he turned her to face him, his gaze pinning hers.
The love exploded inside her again and she couldn’t help but wonder if it would always be like this between them. He smiled, a slow, sexy turn of the lips that almost stopped her heart. And she knew she would still desire him this strongly on their fiftieth wedding anniversary.
“I want to say our vows again—for love this time.”
Her heart melted. “I said them for love the first time. ”
He watched her. “So did I. I just didn’t know it. ”
Danielle bit her bottom lip, trying to stem the tears of joy that threatened to flow.
When he slid her wedding band off her finger, he was so tender, so gentle, she ached. He held the ring up to the sun to capture the day’s first light, then smiled at her, a smile that went straight to her soul and warmed the remaining cold corners of her heart.
Each movement slow and deliberate, he picked up her hand. After kissing her palm, he slowly slid the ring into place. “With this ring, I thee wed....”
Unable to wait, she kissed him, absorbing the words into her heart and deep into her soul.
She had come home, had found her destiny.
Epilogue
“Did you call Daddy?”
Jace cuddled his newborn son closer, seemingly fascinated with the tiny fingers clutching at his hand. “Yes, Dani, I called him. He’s on his way now.”
Danielle watched with satisfaction, wondering how her life could be any more perfect. The baby had been born exactly nine months after the wedding. She’d always known their wedding night was the stuff magic was made of, but their baby was further proof.
“What should we name him?”
She chuckled. “I still haven’t a clue. With the insanity of these past months, I’ve barely had time to remember my own name.”
She had been busy, first moving the last of her belongings from Denver, then settling into life as a rancher’s wife. When her father finally realized he wasn’t going to lose her to Jace, he’d asked Danielle to take over the daily operation of the company, with no strings attached.
She’d been tempted. But that dream was no longer important. Instead, she had bigger, better dreams to pursue. Once she’d discovered she was pregnant, she hadn’t wanted to work. Her job as Jace’s wife and the mother of their child was far more important.
So together, she and her father had selected a new CEO, and together, they worked to turn over the daily operations of the corporation. Each day, when she came home to the ranch, Danielle was surprised to discover that she felt totally satisfied and fulfilled without the daily stress of work.
She had Jace, who was more than enough to keep her occupied and contented. A soft smile crossed her lips as she remembered some of the methods he’d used to keep her busy.
And now, she had their son. Assisting Jace with another expansion to the ranch had kept her from feeling as if she’d lost touch with the business world. Daily talks on the phone with her father had helped breach his fears of losing his daughter. And when she realized just how deep his fear ran, she’d discovered she could forgive him.
The door opened, letting in the muted sounds of the hospital and a disheveled version of her father.
“You always did have a bad sense of timing, my girl.” But the words were said with a big smile and a teasing tone. The past months had softened her father and he was a much happier man. “Midnight is an ungodly hour.”
“It’s not my fault, it’s the baby’s,” she retorted. She grinned at her husband. “We could blame it all on Jace.”
Her husband looked up in surprise. “How did I get dragged into this?”
“You’re available.”
He leaned over to taste her lips. Just before he pulled away, he murmured, “I’m always available for you, darlin’.”
Her father cleared his throat, his face lightly flushed. “Let me become
acquainted with my grandchild and you two lovebirds can continue without us.” He held out his arms eagerly.
As Jace handed the baby over, Danielle laughed, wondering how she’d managed to stumble into such a perfect life. “We’re finished, Daddy. For now.” She turned to her husband of nine months again. “What should we name him? ‘Hey, you’ just isn’t going to work.”
“I was so sure it was going to be a girl. I had planned to name her after her mother.”
Touched, she reached out to Jace and he immediately folded his fingers into hers. Then she extended her free hand to her father. Holding Jace’s gaze, she made her proposal, not certain how it would be received. “I’d like to name the baby Tyrone, after Daddy.”
Jace hesitated for a heartbeat, then smiled. “That’s a great idea. Little Ty sounds like a future rancher to me.”
Danielle’s father puffed out his chest with an answering grin. “Little Tyrone sounds more like a future CEO, if you want my opinion.”
The competition between these two men would probably never end. But it was a friendly competition now. They’d both agreed to declare a truce over the past.
Pride swelling inside her, she smiled at Jace, silently thanking him for agreeing to her peace offering. Turning to her father, she waited to see how that offering was received.
Throne Simmons, hard-hearted tycoon of the business world, was blinking rapidly. His voice was husky with emotion when he spoke. “I would be honored.” He gulped, then pulled away from her hold. “If you don’t mind, little Tyrone and I will take a stroll in the hallway.” He cleared his throat. “You two need some time alone.”
Danielle reached for Jace as soon as the door swished closed. She finally broke away from his kiss to stroke his face. “Thank you, my love. You’ve made my life richer than I ever dared dream was possible.”
With another kiss, he assured her he was at her side for a lifetime. And with a wicked whisper, he promised her they would practice until they had another child to delight over.
After all, he would need more help around the ranch if their holdings continued to grow.
The Cowboy Proposes... Marriage? Page 14