by Jill Sanders
“Yes, but…I could have…” He put his finger over her lips.
“You were there.” She watched as a tear slipped down his face. “If you hadn't been, I could have lay there and bled to death until you got home. You saved me.” He blinked and tried to pull her closer. She leaned in.
“You saved me,” he repeated and placed his lips on hers. The kiss was different than all the rest they had shared. It marked her, branded her. She felt something shift inside her and closed her eyes to it. Then she released what she'd bottled up inside herself for so long, since that day she watched her mother die. Opening her eyes and pulling back, she took his face in her hands and smiled. “She was right.” She smiled.
“Who?” He smiled back at her.
“The old woman. This has changed everything.”
His eyebrows shot up in question.
“Grant, I don't want to live with you.” She saw his instant frown and chuckled. “I want to marry you. I love you. I love you for your kindness, for your honesty, for the way you are with people and animals. There are so many reasons why.” She chuckled. “It could take a lifetime to go through them all. Tell me you'll spend a lifetime with me hearing all of my reasons.”
He smiled. “I thought you'd never ask.” He pulled her in with his good arm and kissed her again.
Two days later, Grant walked into his house with the help of Alex. They were greeted by Chase, Lauren, Haley, and Grant’s parents. Everyone was sitting in the living room, smiling as they watched them walk in slowly.
“I hope you don't mind, I've been staying over here watching over the animals,” Chase said, then nodded towards the dog bed by the fireplace.
When they walked in, the small dog's tail started wagging.
“Hey, Junior.” He smiled at the small animal whose back half was completely covered in thick white bandages. “How's he doing?” he asked as Alex helped him sit on the couch.
Chase walked over and sat across from them. “He'll live. Might take him some time to get back to puppy mode, and he'll probably have a limp. But he made it through it, which is always a good sign.”
The little dog lay his head down again and closed his eyes.
“Patty confessed,” his mother broke in, gaining everyone's attention. “Tell them, Glenn.” She grabbed his hand.
His dad nodded. “Yes, well. She's confessed and is pleading insanity.” His father frowned. “She owned up to everything that's happened over the last couple months. Even the attack on Alex at the rodeo.”
“Why?” Alex asked, taking Grant's hand in hers. She felt herself shaking as he ran his fingers over her palms.
Glenn shook his head. “She claims that she just wanted to make her son happy.” He nodded to Alex. “So she did everything she could to get back at you and Grant for hurting him, including framing Grant for the attack on you. She talked about how you had shamed their family. How you had destroyed her son and ruined him.” He shook his head.
“She said that Travis was happiest when he was with you. So she did everything she could to get Grant out of the way. She was under the assumption that it was you who was pregnant, instead of Lauren. She still won't believe that you're not carrying Travis' baby.”
“She must be crazy,” Lauren said, walking over and sitting next to Chase. “What's going to happen to her?”
“Well, it will be up to the courts now. If they find her guilty of attempted murder, she'll get anywhere from two to twenty years. If they find her criminally insane, she may get as little as a year in an institution.”
“What?” Lauren sat forward, anger flashing in her eyes. Chase reached over and took her arm. “It's up to the courts.” He patted her arm and everyone could see her relax a little.
“What about the mayor?” Alex asked Grant's parents.
Glenn shook his head. “He knew nothing about what his wife had been doing. He's stepping down as mayor. It'll be official tomorrow. There will be an emergency city council meeting next week to decide who will cover until the next election season.”
“Travis?” Alex asked next.
Glenn shook his head again. “He left town shortly after they arrested his mother. He was shocked and embarrassed.”
Alex sighed and rested back against Grant's good shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and held on tight. She felt good in his arms. She felt right.
By the time everyone left the house, Grant was tired. The two broken ribs weighed heavily and slowed him down. Not to mention the stitches that held his hide back together. He was stiff and sore all over. Even his knees hurt.
Alex cooed over Junior until finally she carried him back into their bedroom, lying his bed down on her side of the room so she could watch over him.
“You know,” he said, as she lay down next to him. “The doctor said if the bullet hadn't been slowed down by him”—he nodded to the sleeping puppy—“that it might have completely penetrated my ribs and struck a vital organ. So, in a way,” he smiled, “you both saved me.”
She smiled and leaned closer to him, placing a soft kiss on his lips. “I guess we both owe Junior a lot.”
His grin doubled.
“What?” she asked, pulling back a little.
“You called him Junior.” He smiled, knowing he'd won everything he’d ever wanted.
Epilogue
Alex stood next to the glass and watched the nurse lay down the baby. Its shiny bald head was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. How could she be in love so quickly? She smiled and waved as the little boy's eyes blinked frantically as the nurse cleaned him.
“Isn't he beautiful?” she asked Grant, who was standing next to her.
“He's a keeper.” Grant leaned against the glass and looked at her, then sighed.
“What?” She quickly looked away from her nephew for a second to give her husband of three months a glance.
“Just looking at the prettiest girl in Texas.” He smiled.
“Grant Holton.” She turned and crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want now?”
His smile was fast. “Kids,” he said, simply. “Like that one. A girl would do nicely, too.” He crossed his arms over his chest. His stance screamed cowboy even though his clothes yelled lawyer at the moment.
She smiled slowly at him. “Really? Just how soon are you thinking you'll want one of those?”
“One?” He frowned a little. “If you remember correctly, I said ‘kids,’ as in plural.”
She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh, I heard you, alright. How many are we talking?”
“Well…” He reached up and scratched his chin and smiled. “Since we have four extra bedrooms, I was thinking that number was good.”
She smiled. “How soon are you thinking of starting this family, Counselor?”
“Soon.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She pulled his head down, deepening it until they were both breathless. “We could always start now…” He smiled and started to pull her down the hallway.
“Oh, no. We can't take this special moment away from Lauren and Chase. Besides, I'm dying to know what they are going to name my nephew.”
“Fine.” He rolled his eyes, then leaned in for another long, slow kiss. “Let's go see what the little tyke’s name is.”
“God,” she said, taking his arm, “I hope they didn't name him something dumb.”
When they walked back into Lauren's private hospital room, everyone was there. Haley sat in the corner, talking to Chase's new stepmother, Charlotte. Chase was talking to his father near the window.
“Well, he's getting his first bath and screaming his head off while he's at it,” Alex said, walking in and sitting gently by her sister. “Are you ready to tell us all what you've named him yet?”
Chase walked over and sat on the other side of Lauren, taking her hand. They smiled at each other.
“We decided to name him after the man who raised a bunch of rowdy cowgirls all by himself,” Lauren said, smiling. “Ri
chard Chase Graham.”
Holding Haley
Haley has waited her whole life for Wes. They were secret sweethearts all throughout school, but when he shocks her by joining the military fresh out of school, she's heartbroken and left to wait until the day he comes home. But it's been five long years and she has finally decided to move on with her life. That is until he walks back into town, sexier than ever.
Wes has had one thing on his mind since leaving town: getting back to Haley. Seeing and experiencing what he did oversees has made him realize what he almost let slip through his fingers. All he wants now is to prove to her that waiting for him was the right choice.
About the Author
Jill Sanders is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Pride Series, the Secret Series, and the West Series romance novels. Having sold over 150,000 books within six months of her first release, she continues to lure new readers with her sweet and sexy stories. Her books are available in every English-speaking country and are now being translated into six different languages and recorded for audiobook.
Born as an identical twin to a large family, she was raised in the Pacific Northwest. She later relocated to Colorado for college and a successful IT career before discovering her talent as a writer. She now makes her home in charming rural Texas where she enjoys hiking, swimming, wine tasting, and, of course, writing.