And Cowboy Makes Three (Cowboys To The Rescue 2)
Page 19
“You loved me then? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know how.” He took another step, then stopped on his own. “I didn’t know a hell of a lot about love—until you came along. I wanted to be sure what I felt was real.”
“And now you’re sure?”
He nodded. “When you left this afternoon, I knew. When Melissa left me, I let her go. But when you left, I went crazy trying to find you. And I’m going to drive you crazy until you come back to me.”
Elation swept through her, but she tamped it down. She couldn’t let herself believe him. Not yet. There was too much at stake.
“You’re a control freak, Jake, and I can’t stand anyone breathing down my neck.” She lifted her hands helplessly. “How can two people like that live together?”
He studied her face for long moments. The pain in his eyes nearly sent her flying across the room into his arms.
“Do you love me?” he asked finally.
Her eyes widened. She’d forgotten that one little detail. Here she was insisting on him loving her, when she hadn’t even told him she loved him. “More than my own life.”
As she repeated his words, he strode across the room, but she held him away with a stiff arm. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“How can two people who love each other more than their own lives not live together?” he asked simply. “I’ve learned a lot since you came into my life. I’ve learned to let you in. I haven’t let anyone close to me in a long time, because everyone who got close hurt me. But I finally realized that a woman who can’t make you miserable can’t make you happy, either. You’ve taken me from the highest pinnacles of happiness to the deepest canyons of despair. But the pinnacles are worth the canyons, as long as you’re there with me.”
Claire felt her own heart soaring high on the wings of his words. She wanted to believe him more than she wanted to breathe, but she was still afraid of the fall. “What if our love dies?”
“It won’t,” he promised. “At least, mine won’t. I’ve waited too long for love to let it slip away anytime in the next hundred years. By then I figure it’ll be too much of a habit to break.”
“Oh, Jake.”
It didn’t take much effort for him to bend the stiff arm separating them. He folded her into his embrace and held on tight. “They say opposites attract. That’s certainly true in our case. We’ll live together—happily—in spite of the fact that I’m a control freak and you hate to be controlled. It’s just going to take a little extra effort. We all make mistakes, angel. I’ve just made a big one. But you’ll forgive me because you love me. Right?”
She let go of the last tether holding her heart. Finally she let herself believe in his love. “Yes, I forgive you. I’ve learned a lot, too. Now I know that independence can’t keep me warm at night It doesn’t have strong arms to hold me or warm lips to kiss me. I depend on you, Jake. I want to depend on you. Just say you’ll always be there when I need you.”
“And to back off when you don’t?”
She shook her head with a smile. “Just be there.”
Emotions washed over Jake with such force, he staggered under their weight. “Just try and get rid of me.”
He held her close for an endless space of time. Until he began to believe she really loved him. Until he knew she’d never leave.
Finally, she stirred in his arms. “About the nanny...”
He stiffened, and tightened his hold even more. “What about the nanny?”
She pulled back and smiled up at him. “We’ll only need one part-time.”
He frowned. “I don’t want my child in one of those public day cares. There’s so many germs floating around those places, kids there are sick half the time.”
“I agree, but Mr. Whitaker said I could work as many days as I want, or don’t want.”
“Mr. Whitaker? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Oh, by the way, I quit.”
“What?”
She patted his chest. “Calm down. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this for a week. My job at Pawnee sucks swamp water, Jake. I want to work with people, not investments. I want to wear blue jeans to work. I want the freedom to take a client or not, so I can have time to watch my baby grow up. I want to see her first steps, or hear his first words. I don’t want to hear about it hours later from a nanny.”
“Are you sure? I thought you wanted the independence a big paycheck would give you.”
She shook her head. “Your paycheck is more than big enough to support our family.”
He searched her face as if he suspected her of being an impostor. “You’ve balked at taking anything from me ever since we got married, especially money.”
“I know, but I’ve just realized it’s your money that gives me the freedom to have a job I like.” She smiled up at him. “How about this? You go out and make money, and I’ll keep track of it—at least at home. Jim Gordon is more than capable of taking care of Pawnee’s money.”
He thought that over, then said, “I’ll let you go on one condition.”
She regarded him warily. “What?”
“We hire someone to move everything you have here to our place—tomorrow.”
She grinned. “Deal.”
“Okay, you can quit.” He pulled her close and breathed in the light floral scent she wore. “Whatever you want to do. Just love me. Just promise you’ll never leave no matter what I do. I’m going to make more mistakes. As you’ve pointed out many times, I’m too pigheaded not to. You’ll drive me crazy, too. Just tell me we’ll work through the rough times. That’s what love is all about, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I do love you. I promise I’ll never, ever leave.”
His gaze locked with hers. In her beautiful blue eyes he read his future, and his heart nearly burst from the love flowing between them. “I love you, Claire Angela Anderson. I’m going to devote the rest of my life to making you happy.”
Her smile was as radiant as the sun. His sun. “I love you, too, Jacob Henry Anderson.”
“Even though I’m just an old cowboy?”
She ran a trembling hand back through his hair. “I never thought I’d be a cowboy’s bride. But now that I am, I have to admit it might not be so bad.”
“Might not be so bad?” he growled, his lips hovering above hers.
“It might even be—” she touched her mouth to his “—some-where in the realm of wonderful.”
Will Travis ever get the Circle E? Find out in
THE MILLION DOLLAR COWBOY. Coming from
Silhouette Romance in January 1999!
ISBN : 978-1-4592-6637-7
AND COWBOY MAKES THREE
Copyright © 1998 by Martha Shields
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