“Do you mean Ben Litty?” Madeline asked innocently.
He pinched her bottom. “You are wicked, Mrs. Sinclair. Yes, I mean Ben Litty.”
She nibbled at his ear and whispered, “You needn’t worry about Ben. I told him long ago that I was in love with you, and that I wasn’t giving up on our marriage.”
“Damn, Maddie. You told him before you told me?”
“He was ready to hear it.”
“Oh, well, I guess I can’t argue with that.”
“No, you can’t.” Madeline’s teeth nipped at his lower lip as she added, “I don’t really want to live in Dallas, anyway. That’s too close to your dear friend Juanita.”
Brazos licked Madeline’s neck and said, “Not unless you call an ocean away close. The day your pa and I left La Réunion, Monsieur Bureau was fixing to take Juanita with him back to Paris. I suspect they’re halfway there by now.”
“Juanita in France? Well, if nothing else could convince me to stay in Texas…” Her fingers trailed up his thigh.
“Don’t tempt me, Maddie. You plumb wore me out last night. Give me a chance to build my strength back up.”
She bit his ear. “Yeow,” he cried, but he grinned while he did it.
She rolled off him and nestled against his side. “Where will we live, Brazos? Near your parents?”
“I own a bit of land along the Brazos River,” he told her, his fingers playing with the ends of her hair. “It’s pretty—lots of oak, rolling hills, good farmland. It’s near the orphanage, too. If you’ve a mind to, we could settle there. I’d even be willing to spend a month or two at La Réunion helping those folks prepare for their first winter. I’m telling you, Maddie, unless they change their ways, that colony doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of surviving.”
“If we go back, I could tell the colonists good-bye. The Brunets could move in to our house. Lillibet likes it so much more than those the colonists are building,” Madeline absently mused. She was remembering when Sister Cecilia told her about the plantation Brazos had purchased all those years ago. The place where he’d intended to build a home and raise a family. “The land you own sounds like a lovely place to live, Brazos.”
Brazos smiled and tenderly kissed the top of her head. “You think there’s a chance we could convince Julian to stay?”
“I’ve learned to believe that anything I wish for can come true.”
“That reminds me,” Brazos said. He rolled over and pulled open the drawer beneath the bed. “Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Just do as I say, Beauty.”
“That’ll be the day.”
“Don’t I know it.” He laid three items in her lap. Madeline lifted the first, a sheet of paper and read the writing upon it. “What is this?”
“Recipes. My sister wrote them down for me. I want you to pick which one I should bake.” She stared at him in confusion, and he sighed. “Maddie, I once told you that the day you became my equal was the day I tied on an apron—”
“—and baked a cake,” she finished. “Why, Brazos Sinclair.”
“You asked for chocolate. I figure it’s long overdue. Show me which one you want.”
Laughter bubbled up inside her, “I don’t care about the cake. It’s the apron I want to see. I’ve one at La Réunion that has a lace collar and flowers…”
“Don’t press your luck, woman.”
Smiling, she picked up the second item, the blue velvet bag that had contained all of her stolen articles. The third was her magical mirror. Brazos said, “I left La Réunion in a pretty big hurry, but I figured you’d be wanting this stuff, so I tucked it in my saddlebags.”
“Oh, Brazos,” Madeline sighed, her heart swelling with love. She pulled open the bag and peered inside. Frowning, she dumped out the contents. “Some things are missing.”
“They were mine to start with, Maddie. It’s only right I took ‘em back.”
“Your watch and your gun I understand.” She lifted her brows in a silent question.
His voice held a note of defensiveness as he answered, “That golf ball really is special to me, Maddie.”
Smiling, she shook her head and lifted her mirror. Her fingers traced the gems and filigree on the back; then ever so slowly, she turned it over and gazed into the glass. Tears of joy trickled down her cheeks as she saw reflected in her mirror a new image, one she’d never dreamed before.
A two-story brick house stood on the rise of a hill within calling distance of a slow-moving river. A wooden veranda painted white stretched along three sides, and in the yard, a rope swing hung from the branch of an ancient oak tree. Children played on the lawn. Rose, perhaps nine or ten, pushed a younger child, a girl with gleaming blond hair and sparkling blue eyes, in the swing. Two boys played marbles while another boy stood beside Brazos, an older Brazos, but even more handsome with a touch of gray at his temples. Brazos was showing the boy how to swing a golf club while Julian Desseau waved at an approaching carriage carrying André and Lillibet Brunet and three boys.
Madeline didn’t see herself in the picture, but she knew she was there because she could hear her own laughter at the antics of a toddler chasing a golf ball on the grass.
“What is it, Beauty?” Brazos asked, wrapping his hand around hers, the one that held the enchanted mirror.
“It’s wonderful, Brazos,” she told him softly. “Obviously, we all will live happily ever after.”
Don't miss any of New York Times bestselling author Geralyn Dawson's romances now available in digital format!
Historical Romances
THE TEXAN'S BRIDE
CAPTURE THE NIGHT
THE SCOUNDREL'S BRIDE (Originally published as TEMPTING MORALITY.)
THE WEDDING RANSOM
THE KISSING STARS
THE BAD LUCK WEDDING DRESS, Bad Luck Wedding series #1
THE BAD LUCK WEDDING CAKE, Bad Luck Wedding series #2
SIMMER ALL NIGHT, Bad Luck Wedding series #3, Bad Luck Abroad trilogy #1
SIZZLE ALL DAY, Bad Luck Wedding series #4, Bad Luck Abroad trilogy #2
THE BAD LUCK WEDDING NIGHT, Bad Luck Wedding series #5, Bad Luck Abroad trilogy #3
HER BODYGUARD, Bad Luck Wedding series #6, Bad Luck Brides trilogy #1
HER SCOUNDREL, Bad Luck Wedding series #7, Bad Luck Brides trilogy #2
HER OUTLAW, Bad Luck Wedding series #8, Bad Luck Brides trilogy #3
Contemporary Romances
MY BIG OLD TEXAS HEARTACHE
THE LAST BACHELOR IN TEXAS (Originally published as MY LONG TALL TEXAS HEARTTHROB.)
Women's Fiction novel
SEASON OF SISTERS (Originally published as THE PINK MAGNOLIA CLUB.)
Contemporary Romances written as Emily March
ANGEL'S REST
HUMMINGBIRD LAKE
HEARTACHE FALLS
LOVER'S LEAP
NIGHTINGALE WAY (September 2012)
About the Author
Geralyn Dawson is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty-five novels written in a variety of sub-genres including historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and women's fiction. She is a three-time Finalist for Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA award and a recipient of Romantic Times magazine's Career Achievement Award. Her novel THE WEDDING RANSOM was named one of Romance Writers of America's Top Ten Favorite Novels of the Year. The Detroit Free Press named her THE WEDDING RAFFLE as one of the best romances of the year.
Geralyn is currently writing romantic women's fiction for Ballantine Books under the pseudonym Emily March. The first three novels of Emily March's Eternity Springs series, ANGEL'S REST, HUMMINGBIRD LAKE, and HEARTACHE FALLS each earned coveted starred reviews from Publishers Weekly magazine. The fourth book of the series, LOVER'S LEAP is a January 2012 release with NIGHTINGALE WAY to follow in Fall 2012.
Geralyn invites you to visit her website at www.emilymarch.com and register for her e-newsletter, which includes contes
ts, news about her upcoming releases, and other fun stuff.
You can follow her on Twitter at both @geralyndawson and @emilymarchbooks. Geralyn is also active on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/emilymarchbooks and she hopes you'll "like" the page and join the discussion there.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
About the Author
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
About the Author
Capture The Night Page 36