Rodeo Sheriff

by Mary Sullivan

* * *

  COLE LOATHED, ABSOLUTELY abhorred what Honey said about him, even if it was true.

  Lord, because it was true.

  He’d traveled so far, both physically and metaphorically, to get away from his upbringing, only to find he was every bit as controlling as his mother and grandmother.

  One thought shot horror through him.

  “What about the children? How do I protect them from me?”

  “Cole, there’s nothing to protect them from. You need to understand the varying, subtle degrees of control. Yes, even control can be subtle. You don’t dominate. Trust me. Those children will thrive under your care and leadership. You will guide them, not dominate them as your family did with you.”

  He stared as though seeing a new side of Honey. “How did you get to be so wise?”

  “Believe it or not, I’ve lived through a lot. My dad died when I was six. Daniel died when I was twenty-one. Mom died when I was twenty-two. I’m alone now. I need to accept that and be strong.”

  Cole’s pulse started up a staccato beat because of what he was about to do. Did he have the courage?

  “No,” he said.

  “No?”

  Heart in his throat, Cole approached and lifted her to her feet. He cradled her head with his palm and brushed her cheek with his thumb. “You aren’t alone.”

  “But...what do you mean?”

  He’d been forced into a false engagement. Now that it existed, did he really want it to end? He desired Honey every bit as much as he ever had—maybe more since making love to her that one perfect night.

  His dream was coming true.

  She watched him, intelligence shining in the depths of her beautiful eyes, and he wondered why he hadn’t, in the years he’d known her, honored her backbone and her strong sense of responsibility.

  He’d allowed his experience growing up, and Shiloh’s betrayal, to rule his actions and his thoughts.

  Honey could be controlling, when she had to be, and joyful, when she needed it. She balanced one with the other.

  Only in his own mind did he think she went too far.

  If he looked at her through the eyes of a healthy, courageous man, without fear, he saw her in all of her strength and glory.

  His thumb feathered across her lips. She closed her eyes.

  “No,” he whispered.

  Mesmerized, she asked, “No? What was the question?”

  Cole smiled. He liked that she was so deeply affected by his touch.

  “No, you aren’t alone.”

  What he wanted most in the world was to order Honey to stay with him, to forbid her to ever leave.

  Cole Payette wanted Honey Armstrong for the rest of his life.

  Of course, it was her choice. And he would honor Honey’s choices, and her freedom, and her backbone from now on.

  “Do you want to end our engagement?” he asked and held his breath. The wrong answer would hurt. It would come close to destroying him. He would curse every single day he lived in the same town as Honey and couldn’t touch her, couldn’t breathe in her unique scent and make love to her.

  “The bigger question, Cole, is do you? You know who I am. You know the parts of my character that you don’t like.”

  “And I know the parts I do. I like these.” He feathered a touch over her lips again. His palm circled her neck. His fingers caressed her nape. “I like this.” His hand stroked her hair, from top to bottom, whispering along her spine on the way. “I love this.”

  Up at her neck, he edged her blouse off one shoulder. One finger ran across her collarbone. “I really like clavicles.”

  “Clavicles?”

  “Uh-huh. Yours are wonderful.”

  “They are?”

  His fingers cupped her bare shoulder, her soft skin almost bringing him to the brink of action.

  “I like your strong shoulders.” His fingers curled around to her back.

  “My shoulders?”

  With both hands, he held her upper back and drew her close. When her chest touched his, he said, “And I like those.”

  “Those?” She seemed to have become incoherent, capable only of repeating what he said.

  Cole liked it. He liked her losing her train of thought. He liked her succumbing to temptation. To his temptation.

  “Those absolutely gorgeous, perfect breasts. I want them in my hands, Honey. Bare and peaking.”

  Eyes closed, she swayed forward before catching herself. Her eyelids popped open.

  She shook herself and seemed to come out of a trance. She put distance between them. “Physical attraction won’t last forever,” she said briskly. For a moment she had succumbed to his caresses and he’d liked her capitulation, but it was too brief. “We need more.”

  “Do you think, after fourteen years in this town, all I feel for you is physical attraction? Do you think I love only your body? Don’t you know how much I admire you? How much of your character I find perfect?”

  He held her arms. “Do you honestly think I find your body more attractive than your decency and honesty? Do you think I don’t admire what a good businesswoman you are? Do you think I don’t appreciate your energy, and your smiles and generosity, and your willingness to help your neighbors, and above all your loving character?”

  Her cheeks had pinked with his lengthy description, but she stayed close.

  “And all of my crazy talk about your fun-loving nature being wrong was exactly that. Crazy. The problem was me, not you. I need your fun, Honey. I need you to help me to lighten up. I need your joy.”

  A smile like a slow-rising dawn spread across her face.

  “I like that, Cole.”

  He returned her smile, at peace at last, his demons exorcised, his dragons slayed.

  Escaping his mother’s extreme control, he’d then given his life over to Shiloh. But Honey didn’t ask for control. She asked for an equal share. That he could do.

  “Cole, I love all of this talk about character, but now I find—I want—The children are asleep and we’re two adults alone and attracted to each other.”

  His thumb had migrated to her throat. He felt her swallow. He felt her pulse pound.

  “I mean, really attracted,” she said. “Can we go up to your bed?”

  “That’s exactly where I want you.” When she moved toward the stairs, he stopped her and held her by her waist so she wouldn’t go farther.

  “First, we have to settle about my job.”

  “I see you differently. I see you as a lover and a loved one and as a future partner. I can’t think of anyone I want more in my life and beside me for the rest of my days than you.”

  He held her and sighed. Maybe all of his impossible, crazy dreams were about to come true.

  “I love you, Cole. I want to truly be engaged to you. I want to lay down all of my fears and never give them another moment’s consideration...”

  His arms held her as close as he could without hurting her, the depth of his love so powerful it could crush her.

  “I want to marry you, Cole. I love you.” She eased away to look into his face.

  “I love you, too. I want you in my life, for all time.”

  A luminous smile turned his lovely lady into the prettiest woman in the universe.

  “Speaking of desire...” she said, giggled and ran for the stairs.

  He followed with long strides, picked her up in his arms and took the stairs two at a time.

  In his bedroom, he dropped her onto his king-size bed. It was large enough, but missing something...

  “We need to bring your bed here. We need to make love in it every night for the next fifty years.”

  “At least once a night.” She grinned impishly.

  He returned her grin. “At least once a night.”

  He locked the bedroom door, cam
e back to Honey and slowly removed her clothing, paying homage to all of her interesting parts.

  Much later, she paid homage to all of his.

  * * *

  IN THE MORNING, Honey sat at the breakfast table with Cole, Evan and Madeline.

  She had wanted to go home in the early morning before the children got up, but Cole had resisted.

  Now, he spoke up, the deep frown lines that had developed in the past few years eased with happiness. “Children, how would you feel about Honey coming to live with us?”

  Evan shouted, “Yeah!”

  Madeline’s blue eyes, already too big for her tiny face, got even bigger.

  She jumped down from her chair and scrambled into Honey’s lap. “Yeah,” she said, voice small but crystal clear.

  “Is she gonna share Madeline’s bedroom?” Evan asked.

  “Nope,” Cole said. “We’re getting married. Honey’s going to stay in my room.”

  Evan danced around the kitchen.

  Madeline’s chin wobbled. One tear slid down her cheek. Baffled and bewildered, Honey looked to Cole for help.

  He didn’t seem to know any more than she did. He took Maddy into his arms and held her tightly against his big, safe chest.

  “Don’t you want Honey to live here?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Don’t you want her to share my room?”

  She nodded again.

  “Then what’s wrong, sweetheart? Why are you crying?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “Oh, Cole,” Honey said. “She’s overwhelmed. All of these emotions are so huge.”

  She knelt on the floor in front of Madeline, between Cole’s outstretched legs. “Are you too happy again?”

  Maddy nodded.

  Honey brushed her hair from her forehead. “It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?”

  Maddy nodded again. “You miss your mommy and daddy, don’t you?”

  Again the child nodded.

  “I understand. You can tell me about them anytime you want to, okay?”

  “Me, too?” Evan asked.

  Honey wrapped an arm around him. Cole rested his hand on his hair.

  “Yes, anytime.”

  Evan leaned his head on her shoulder.

  “Can I do anything for you?” Honey asked Maddy.

  “Want Tori.”

  “She always makes you feel better, doesn’t she?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay. I’ll call Rachel. How about if you finish your breakfast while I call?”

  Cole said, “Everything will be fine, Madeline and Evan. I guarantee it.”

  He put her on her own chair, and she picked up her spoon to eat her cereal. He directed Evan back to his own breakfast.

  Honey called Rachel. Maybe what the children needed was a morning of uncomplicated fun.

  After sharing her good news while Rachel whooped and simply had to share the news with Travis immediately, Honey asked, “Can you give Evan and Madeline a ride on the carousel?”

  “Yes! Of course. Meet you there! I am so happy for you.” Rachel hung up the phone, still laughing.

  Honey felt the same way. She’d had a silly, sloppy grin on her face since she’d awakened. Maybe even before. Maybe she’d slept with a grin all night long.

  Except when they’d made love.

  Then she’d been oh so gloriously serious in her loving of Cole.

  Back in the kitchen, she told the children they were going out to play somewhere special.

  Cole raised a questioning eyebrow.

  “I’m going home to change. I’ll be back in half an hour.”

  “Where are we going after that?”

  With a quick glance at the children, she said, “It’s a surprise.”

  Evan perked up. “I like surprises!”

  “Me, too,” Maddy said, her voice getting stronger every day. Honey no longer had to lean close to hear her soft, restrained whispers. “Where’s Tori?”

  “You’ll see her soon,” Honey said before stepping out of the house.

  She drove home, changed and washed up, and returned in record time.

  Cole and the children waited for her on the front veranda, Evan hopping from foot to foot and Madeline in her favorite spot—the safest spot on earth for her—in Cole’s arms with her head resting against his broad chest.

  When Honey got out of her car and approached, he brushed his cheek on Maddy’s hair and said something. She giggled. Actually giggled. Madeline spread her palm flat against his chest and said, “Again.”

  Whatever he had said, he repeated it and Maddy giggled again. “Rumbly!”

  Cole laughed and Maddy’s head followed the movement of his chest.

  Honey’s eyes watered.

  Oh, great balls of freaking fire! At some point in the near future these spikes of emotion were going to have to stop or she would never survive.

  “Come on,” she said. “Let’s get into Cole’s truck.”

  Once they’d all loaded into the truck, Cole turned to her.

  “Where to?”

  “The amusement park. Rachel’s meeting us there.”

  “And Tori?” a tiny voice asked from the backseat.

  “Yes, Tori will be there.”

  “’Kay.”

  Cole backed out of the driveway and drove to the park. He pulled up on the side of the road, and everyone got out.

  Evan ran to the fence and stared openmouthed at the rides. “Wow.”

  When Cole lifted Madeline out of her car seat, she stared, too. In particular, the carousel—front and center—riveted her interest.

  For all of last summer and well into the fall, Rachel had scrubbed everything down, chipped away at old paint, applied new paint and fixed the engine.

  The now-glistening carousel ride captured everyone’s attention as they drove by.

  The sign over the entrance had been scraped free of rust and verdigris and shone, as well.

  Rodeo Amusement Park and Fair.

  In less than a month, this old space would ring anew with workers and attendees.

  Rachel hailed them from the center of the carousel.

  Travis walked up with baby Beth in his arms and shook Cole’s hand.

  Tori ran over. “Sheriff, you gots to put Maddy down so I can hug her.”

  Cole laughed and deposited Maddy next to her friend.

  After hugging, the children ran onto the carousel. “Evan, you come, too,” Tori ordered. “We gots to choose our animals. Mommy is giving us a ride.”

  “Yeah!” Evan ran circles around the ride while Tori and Madeline walked more slowly, touching each animal and discussing its merits.

  When the first owner had carved them, he’d chosen the most unusual animals to showcase. Along with the expected horses, they included local animals—a pair of bighorn sheep, a bison, a white-tailed deer, an elk and a huge bull, all wearing ornate saddles.

  The children stopped and stared at a white horse with a pink, blue and gold saddle.

  Madeline kept walking until she found a small pony. Shorter than the horse Tori had chosen, he was pink with a pure white saddle trimmed in gold.

  She reached up and patted his nose.

  Honey stepped up onto the ride. “Is that the one?”

  Madeline smiled up at Honey. That smile, filled with apprehensive joy, as though the child were afraid to be happy, melted Honey’s heart.

  In time, she vowed the joy would grow and the apprehension would fade.

  * * *

  COLE HELPED EVAN up onto the bull and placed his hand on his back.

  Evan shrugged it off. “No, Uncle Cole. I can do it by myself. I’m big now.”

  Cole stood back and held onto a pole when the ride started, his hand hovering beh
ind Evan’s back in case it was needed.

  The ride picked up speed. A calliope sounded in the background, a carnival version of the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love.”

  True. So insanely true.

  He glanced to the little pony that Madeline rode. Honey had one hand on the child’s shoulder.

  Honey. His future wife.

  His pleasure and joy.

  Madeline squealed and laughed.

  Talk about joy.

  Cole had never heard anything so beautiful in his life.

  The lessons overwhelmed him, but in the best way. Opening himself up to Honey and the children left him vulnerable, but what a small price to pay for this, here, now.

  For a full life.

  He thought his eyes might be tearing but blamed it on the wind.

  When the ride slowed down and they all got off, Cole took Evan’s hand and wrapped his other arm around Honey, who held a happily smiling Madeline.

  He thought back to the devastation Sandy and Dennis’s deaths had wrought. He remembered walking into Honey’s Place feeling helpless and alone and overwhelmed.

  He’d wanted Honey’s help.

  He’d wanted Honey.

  He’d certainly gone to the right place, hadn’t he?

  In a few short weeks, Cole had been transformed from lonely bachelor and sedate, practical town sheriff to the happiest family man on the face of the planet.

  All you need is love.

  Yes, indeed.

  * * * * *

  Be sure to pick up the earlier books in Mary Sullivan’s RODEO, MONTANA miniseries: RODEO FATHER, RODEO RANCHER and RODEO BABY!

  And look for Nadine’s story, available in May 2018 from Harlequin Western Romance.

  Keep reading for an excerpt from A FAMILY FOR THE RANCHER by Allison B. Colllins.

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