by Cathie Linz
“Looks like someone has sent out a search party for us.”
“You could say that.”
Something about the way he said that made her ask, “Who are those people?”
“My family,” Dylan ruefully replied.
“Your family?” She gave him a horrified look and sat up board straight, immediately putting a more respectable distance between them. “What are they doing here? I’m not ready to meet your family,” she wailed. “I look like a wreck! Like an old hag! They’ll think I’m robbing the cradle.”
“They’ll think I’m the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
“I suppose it would be too obvious to turn the horse around and head for the hills, huh?” she inquired.
“Just relax. After what you’ve been through today, meeting my family will be a piece of cake.”
“Yeah, right,” she muttered as he pulled Traveler to a halt outside the barn.
Abigail allowed herself the indulgence of letting Dylan help her down. “How’s your leg doing?” she asked in concern.
“It could use a long hot shower with a leggy blonde,” he replied with a wolfish grin.
“I know just the woman for you,” Abigail stated before tilting his black Stetson back and kissing him.
“Hey, baby brother, we came to help you, but I can see you have everything out here under control after all,” Michael noted dryly.
“You’ve got that right,” Dylan murmured, keeping his eyes on Abigail.
As Shem and Hondo took care of the horses, Dylan turned Abigail to introduce her to his family.
But before he could do that, Raj breathlessly burst onto the scene, and she and Abigail engaged in a huge hug-fest.
“Sorry,” Raj said to Michael. “I didn’t mean to intrude on a family get-together.”
“You’re like family. That goes for you, too, Ziggy,” Abigail added as the eccentric artist came closer for a hug of his own.
While this was going on, Dylan was asking Michael, “How did you get out here so fast?”
Before Michael could answer, a whirlwind with shoulder-length dark hair threw herself into Dylan’s arms. Abigail didn’t know whether to be upset or not, until she saw the young woman’s face. The family resemblance was clear.
“I could break every bone in your body for putting us through all this worry,” Gaylynn yelled at Dylan even as she hugged him again.
Seeing the look Dylan directed at him over their sister’s head, Michael shrugged and laconically explained, “Gaylynn and Hunter had come up to visit the folks in Chicago. That’s why I called you last night. But when I heard about the trouble out here, Hunter and I decided we’d fly out and see if we couldn’t lend a hand in getting you your lady back.”
“Hunter is a police officer,” Dylan said for Abigail’s benefit. “And he’s also been foolish enough to saddle himself with this wild sister of mine.”
“Hunter has a cousin who works for the airlines—”
“Hunter has tons of cousins,” Gaylynn inserted, finally releasing Dylan from her sisterly embrace.
“Anyway, he and I were going to fly out alone—”
“But Gaylynn and I wouldn’t hear of it,” Brett said. “Hi, I’m Brett Janos. The only normal one in this family. ” She held out her hand to Abigail. “I’m Michael’s wife. You’ve probably gathered that Gaylynn there is Michael and Dylan’s sister. And this quiet man standing behind me trying not to laugh is Hunter Davis, Gaylynn’s husband.”
“Brett isn’t the only normal one in the family,” Hunter said with a Southern drawl. “I’m normal, too.”
“I don’t know about that,” Michael protested. “I heard all about your argument with a chain saw, Hunter. How normal is that?”
“That’s not funny! He was almost killed,” Gaylynn said, socking Michael’s arm.
“Michael and Hunter have been friends since they were kids,” Dylan explained to Abigail. To Michael, he said, “Where’s Hope? My adorable little niece should be able to say her Uncle Dylan’s name by now.”
“The folks are watching her back in Chicago,” Michael said. “So are you going to introduce us to the lady or not, baby brother? Nice shiner you’re going to have tomorrow, by the way.”
“I’m so glad you approve,” Dylan drawled. “This is Abbie Turner, the woman I’m going to marry.”
Abigail couldn’t believe Dylan had introduced her like that, without any lead-in.
Her surprise must have shown in her eyes because Brett reached out to pat her arm consolingly. “Don’t worry about it, Michael introduced me to his family just about the same way. They don’t have much tact, these Janoses.”
“Welcome to the family,” Gaylynn said, giving Abigail a big hug. To Dylan, she said, “See, I told you that the Rom box would work its magic on you.”
“What Rom box?” Abigail asked.
“You mean he didn’t tell you?”
“I’ve been kind of busy lately,” Dylan growled.
“Rescuing ladies in distress?” Michael asked.
Bemused by it all, Abigail just stood there watching them. There was obviously a lot of love between Dylan and his family. They were a loud group. The quietest one seemed to be his older brother, Michael, who had striking, light hazel eyes and a lean face with high cheekbones. Despite his joking with Dylan, there was a definite intensity about him.
In contrast, Michael’s wife, Brett, was lively and outgoing. Her short dark hair and blue eyes gave her a pixie air. But the heavy-duty hiking boots and jean vest adorned with a button that said Take Time For Kids indicated that this was a practical woman with her feet on the ground.
Gaylynn was a real powerhouse with brown, blunt-cut hair and brown eyes that didn’t miss a thing. She was obviously the apple of husband Hunter’s eye, who was much taller than his petite wife. Hunter had a touch of silver in his brown hair and the most vivid green eyes Abigail had ever seen.
Both Hunter and Michael exuded confidence, but no more so than Dylan.
A hand on her arm drew her attention. Shem was standing beside her, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other with a shamefaced expression on his wrinkled face. “I feel it my paternal duty to apologize for Randy’s behavior,” he declared. “Dylan had the authorities call me and tell me what had happened. I’m so sorry…I’ll pack my things and be out of your hair tonight.”
Abigail stopped his words with a hug. “It wasn’t your fault, Shem. And I’d be lost if you left.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. And don’t blame yourself for what happened with Randy. If it makes you feel any better, I honestly don’t think he meant to hurt me. In fact, he stood up for me to Hoss Jr.”
“Thanks for telling me that,” Shem murmured before nodding his farewell and taking his leave.
As he did so, it suddenly occurred to Abigail that she was still wearing the travel-worn clothes she’d had on yesterday. This family reunion would have to continue without her until after she took a shower…alone, darn it.
Ten minutes later, she was downstairs, her wet hair wrapped in a towel, wearing fresh jeans and a denim shirt and smelling of lily of the valley. It was all Dylan could do not to take her in his arms right there and then. She’d hardly been out of his sight.
Dylan fussed over her like a mother hen, setting her on the couch and putting cushions behind her back. From the incredulous and humorous looks of his sister and brother, Abigail gathered that this was a new side of Dylan.
“I’m fine,” Abigail said, tugging Dylan down to sit beside her rather than having him hovering over her. “Now tell me more about that Rom box.”
“It’s an out-of-whack love charm,” Gaylynn replied since Dylan seemed to have lost his train of thought the moment he’d looked into Abigail’s eyes. “It’s been in our family for years.”
“Legend has it that every other generation of the Janos family will find love literally where they look for it after opening that box,” Michael inserted.
“You always do
that, skip to the bottom line,” Gaylynn complained.
“Because you take forever to say anything.”
“You left out the heart of the story, the young Gypsy girl who fell in love with a no-account count who did not return her feelings. Desperate, the girl had a love spell cast on her behalf, but it wasn’t done right. As Michael said, the first person of the opposite sex that you see after opening the charmed box was the person you’ll fall in love with. I can vouch that it worked on Hunter and me.”
“You had a crush on Hunter since you were thirteen, ” Dylan protested.
“It also worked on Brett and Michael,” Gaylynn continued. “And now it’s worked on you and Dylan. You were the one he saw right after opening the box.”
“I told you I was attracted to Abbie the very first time I saw her,” Dylan said to Gaylynn. “Before I even got the box.”
“And what about your singing.”
“Singing?” Michael groaned. “Oh, tell me he didn’t.”
Abigail immediately leapt to his defense. “Dylan has a beautiful singing voice.”
“That proves it, then,” Michael noted wryly. “The box is indeed magic.”
“It turned Michael into a baby magnet,” Brett inserted. “Before that, he was no good with little ones, but you should see him now.”
“Dad told me that you two were thinking of opening a foster home.”
Brett nodded.
“You’ll do a great job, I’m sure.”
Brett beamed. “Thanks. Your father said the key inside the box had unlocked Michael’s heart.”
“What key?” Dylan asked. “There was a flat rock inside the box—”
“A rock?” Michael said to Dylan. “What are you talking about? There was an intricate key inside, in silver with engraving on it. You better not have lost it!”
“You’re both crazy,” Gaylynn stated. “There was a beautiful old medallion inside that box.”
“There’s an easy way to settle this,” Dylan declared. “I’ll go get the box right now and show you.”
They all piled into the cramped confines of the foreman’s cabin, gathering around the bedside table where Dylan kept the box. Since Dylan had refused to let go of her hand—not that she wanted him to—Abigail was close enough to the box to see the intricate carving on top of it. There were four crescent moons in the left corner. On the right, a setting sun, with some kind of red stone in the center of it, was hovering over a ship whose sails were billowing in the wind. She could just make out a ridge of mountains along the horizon.
She momentarily got distracted by Dylan’s lean fingers before realizing they were covering a wizard on the front of the box.
“Here, I’ll show you what’s inside,” Dylan said.
The box was empty.
“Great,” Gaylynn exclaimed. “You lost the medallion!”
“And the key,” Michael said.
“I’m telling you there was a flat geode inside this thing!” Dylan maintained. “It was in here, I swear it was.”
“What’s this?” Abigail asked, pointing to the bottom of the box where two words were burned into the wood at the bottom.
“I don’t know. I didn’t see that before.”
“Neither did I,” Gaylynn said. “Let me think about this a minute. I read all the stuff I could about this box, and now that I think about it, nowhere did it ever say what was inside. I wonder if it’s possible that we each saw what we needed to see inside of that box. Michael saw a key because he needed someone to unlock his heart. He was always too uptight,” she added with a grin. “But Brett is curing him of that.”
“And I…I saw the medallion. It was almost like a badge of honor, something that is given to reward valor. And indeed that medallion gave me strength when I needed it most. I might not have been able to save Hunter’s life when he was hurt by the power saw were it not for that medallion.”
“So what was the flat rock supposed to do for me?” Dylan asked.
Gaylynn frowned a minute before her eyes suddenly lit up and she snapped her fingers. “Not a rock, a stone! You’re sure it was flat?”
Dylan nodded. “I’d never seen anything like it before. ”
“A flat stone can’t roll. So I guess it means that your rolling-stone days are over.”
“And what do these words mean?” Abigail asked, tracing them with her fingertips, amazed at the warmth they seemed to emanate.
“They’re in Hungarian,” Michael said.
“Call home and ask Dad,” Dylan said, handing him the receiver of the old telephone near the bed.
“Yeah, Dad, it’s Michael. No, don’t put Hope on…
Hi, stinky britches. How’s Daddy’s little girl doing? That’s great, honey. Now put your granddaddy back on the phone.” Turning red, and turning his back on the rest of the family, Michael made a series of baby noises into the phone.
Abigail noted that it was all Hunter and Dylan could do not to crack up, while Brett was looking at her husband with such love in her eyes that it brought a lump to Abigail’s throat.
“Dad, listen, we’ve got a question about the Rom box,” Dylan finally said in a brisk tone of voice. “Do you know what was supposed to be in the box? I know I told you there was a key inside, but Gaylynn and Dylan found other things. That’s part of the magic? Well, what about this?” Michael spelled out the two words. “What does that mean? Stop laughing and just tell me what it.
means…What? I can’t understand you. You haven’t.
been into the pálinka, have you?…Okay, okay, then tell me what the words mean. I see. Thanks, Dad. I’ll call again later. And stop laughing so hard, you’ll have a fit.”
“So what is it?” Gaylynn demanded. “What do the words mean?”
“Love charms.”
“I can’t believe we’re alone at last!” Dylan noted with a sigh of relief.
“I hope your family will be comfortable up at the ranch house,” Abigail said in a worried tone.
“I’m sure they will be. I’m not sure how comfortable we’ll be on this narrow twin bed, though.”
Abigail had given her room to Michael and Brett while Gaylynn and Hunter were sleeping on the Hide-A-Bed in the living room. Before that, Gaylynn and Abigail had had a nice long talk about suggestions for the Lonesome Gap Lending Library, as well as Abigail autographing her most recent book for Gaylynn.
Dylan had opted to stay in the foreman’s cabin, and Abigail was staying with him.
“I’m sure we can work something out about the bed,” Abigail noted demurely while her smile was anything but reserved. Since she was already unbuttoning Dylan’s shirt, he wasn’t fooled by her tone of voice at all. Instead, he was intrigued by the promise in her blue eyes. And captivated by her smell of lily of the valley.
“I’ve always been a sucker for lily of the valley,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck.
“I just have one thing to say to you, Dylan Janos.”
“What’s that?”
“Cowboy up!”
Epilogue
“Tell me I’m not crazy to be doing this,” Abigail said as she nervously tugged on the lacy sleeve of her Victorian-style white wedding dress.
“You’re not crazy to be doing this,” Raj obediently recited.
“You’re just saying that.”
Raj rolled her dark brown eyes.
“Hey, how’s it going in here?” Gaylynn popped her head around the door to ask.
“She’s getting cold feet,” Raj said.
“I am not,” Abigail denied. “It’s more like chilly big toes.”
“Chilly big toes are perfectly acceptable,” Gaylynn stated. “And to be expected.”
“Expected?” Brett repeated, having just walked in. “Don’t you mean expecting? Hunter told me the news about your pregnancy. I’m so happy for you!” Brett, a natural born hugger, bestowed an exuberant one upon Gaylynn.
“I should have told you myself, but I didn’t want to…upset you or anything,” Gaylynn sai
d.
“You didn’t.” At Abigail’s look of confusion, Brett quietly explained, “I can’t give birth to any children of my own, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have children. We’ve already adopted little Hope, and Michael and I are moving forward with out plans to open a foster home. In fact, we just heard yesterday from our Realtor that the large Victorian house we’ve had our eyes on in Du Page County is ours. The owners accepted our bid. It’s a beautiful place, needs some fixing up, but then I’m good at that. It’s got lots of room—four bedrooms and a big yard with an oak tree just perfect for a kid’s swing. And this wedding is going to be perfect, too,” Brett added confidently, moving closer to hug the nervously pacing Abigail.
“Thanks, I needed that,” Abigail said unsteadily. “I just can’t believe this is all really happening. Can something be too perfect? I mean, even my father likes Dylan and he never likes anyone.”
“Dylan has that effect on people,” Gaylynn stated with sisterly pride. “It’s that unshakable confidence of his.”
“Tell me I’m not crazy to be doing this!” Dylan muttered as he nervously tugged on the black string bola tie he wore beneath the collar of his crisp white shirt.
“Forget it,” Michael retorted. “I like watching you squirm and I still say you should have to wear a monkey suit the same as me, not just the jacket.” He flicked his fingers over the tuxedo jacket Dylan wore with new jeans.
“Ignore him,” Hunter advised Dylan. “He’s just teed off that he has to wear a tuxedo and you don’t. Now me, I did the smart thing and eloped. Wasn’t crazy enough to be best man, either.”
“Cra-zee!” Hope squealed in delight as she hung on to Michael’s leg. Taking a few steps backward, she ran toward him again, wrapping both arms around his leg and mashing her nose against his kneecap. “Cra-zee!” this time, her voice was a little muffled, but no less gleeful.
“I thought girls weren’t allowed in here,” Hunter good-naturedly grumbled.
“Relax. Hope is too young to reveal any secrets we may let drop. Isn’t that right, stinky britches?”
“See-krits!” Hope squealed.
“Oh, I can tell she’s the real demure, quiet type,” Hunter mocked.