“I don’t— You’re just saying that because it was my first time. But I asked you. You didn’t— I had to plead for you to—” She broke off, her face red.
“Will the next time be your first time?” he asked softly.
She frowned. “Of course not.”
“If I promise to ask you this time, will that take care of the problem? Honey, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to. But I thought it might be too soon for you. I wanted you, always, but I didn’t want you to regret anything. And I sure as hell don’t want you to run away.”
“You said you didn’t want to get married.”
“I lied!” he assured her with a grin.
Tears pooled in her eyes and she shook her head helplessly. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Sweetheart, all I’m asking is that you give me some time. I’m ready to marry you right now, but if you want some time, to be sure, I’ll wait. As long as you don’t leave.”
She looked away. “I’m thinking about you, Rich. I’m not right for you, for your family.” He gave her an incredulous look and she hurried on, trying to explain. “It’s not that I don’t love you, but I have to do what’s right.”
Before she even finished speaking, Rich leaped to his feet and gave a cowboy yell. Then he caught her hands and pulled her up from the booth. Before she knew what was happening, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
When he finally released his lips from hers, he whispered, “We’ll get the license tomorrow.”
Her head was spinning. “Didn’t you hear me? I’m not right for you.”
“Yes, you are,” Rich assured her. “Sweetheart, I want to go to bed with you every night, and wake up beside you every morning. I want us to have lots of children, but I’ll always want you first of all. We Randall men know how important our ladies are. You’re my number one. I realized that last night but you were crying and— Why were you crying?”
“I planned everything. Then once you kissed me, I forgot the condom and risked having a baby,” she said softly, hiding her face in his chest.
“Don’t you want to have my baby?”
“Yes, but it would be irresponsible to do so when I’m on my own. The baby would suffer.”
“But you’re not on your own anymore. Do you hear me, Samantha? We’re together, and we’ll always be together, because we love each other. Will you come back home, and give me a chance to prove it to you?”
Her only response was a gentle nod, but her gaze was full of love, and once again he kissed her. Her arms slid around his neck and she met his hunger with her own.
“Are you gonna argue with me now, Rich Randall?” a voice intruded.
He lifted his head to see Mona, a big grin on her face, standing beside him. She looked at Sam. “I told you you’d better pick out that wedding gown, and I was right.”
“Yes, you were,” Sam shyly agreed.
Pete joined them. “Did you get things settled?”
“Oh, yeah,” Rich said with deep satisfaction.
“Pete,” Sam asked anxiously, “You won’t mind if—if we marry?”
“If?” Rich protested. “If? You’ve already agreed, Sam, and I’m not about to let you out of our agreement.”
“Besides,” Mona added. “I already predicted it, and I’m never wrong.”
“She’s right,” Rich replied. “We were meant for each other.”
Samantha could only agree.
Epilogue
A knock on the door sent a flutter of activity through the room. “It’s time,” Tori announced, her voice breathless. “Are my flowers on straight?” She turned to the closet mirror to be sure the halo of flowers, vibrant against her pale hair, hadn’t slipped.
“You look beautiful,” Anna, her mother, assured her. “That blue looks good on all of you.”
The young Randall ladies lined up at the door. The last two, Elizabeth and Tori, the maids of honor, checked the two ladies in white. “Ready?” they both asked.
Abby and Samantha nodded, their eyes sparkling with joy. Everything was perfect.
Samantha thought of the changes she’d experienced the last few months, and the remarkable family she would be a part of for the rest of her life. Russ and Abby, in particular, had asked them to share their wedding. So the brothers who’d lost each other because of love, had rediscovered their closeness through love. If Sam had had any doubt about Rich’s feelings, they would’ve been dismissed when she overheard Rich apologizing to his twin.
“It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy for you, Russ. But I didn’t understand how overwhelming love could be. Now, I do.”
As the brothers embraced, Samantha treasured those words to her heart, to remember forever.
They stepped out into the foyer, Abby taking Jake’s arm as he led her down the aisle. And then Pete offered his arm to Samantha, leaning to kiss her cheek and whisper, “Now, you really will be my daughter.”
Samantha was thrilled that Pete’s remark was true. But most important of all was the man waiting at the end of the aisle. Rich was going to be her husband.
Standing there, tall and proud in his tuxedo, he would impress anyone. But most impressive of all was what was inside. A caring, kind, loving man. And he wasn’t ashamed to show it, a legacy from his father and uncles.
Samantha would never be alone again.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5873-4
RANDALL RICHES
Copyright © 2002 by Judy Russell Christenberry.
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Randall Riches Page 19