Jacob stood. “His daddy?”
“Was madder than anything according to the sheriff. Reese didn’t think that he’d have helped him. He’s all but disowned him.”
“Reese went to get Zan right?”
“I don’t know. The phone went dead. I couldn’t get anybody back on the line.”
“Jesus. We need to get to her.”
———
“I’ll be back in a bit, hon. I want to run up to the store and get some more tea.” Bonnie waved as she hurried out the front door.
Despite the pain in her shoulder, Zan unpacked the few things she’d started with before the incident at the corral, all but chiding herself for ever thinking of going back to Texas. Wyoming was her home. It might have taken a massive scare and Charles to make her finally see it, but she knew she could finally stand on her own.
Clyde snuggled into the doggie bed in the corner. For the next half hour, Zan removed things from the box one handed, taking short breaks to rest every once in a while.
She checked the clock again. Why wasn’t her aunt home yet? It didn’t usually take her that long to grab tea from the store. Zan reached for the phone just as the puppy picked up his head and growled.
“Clyde?”
The hairs on the back of her neck rose. She lifted the receiver to her ear but got no dial tone. “Damn.” She depressed the button several times and still nothing.
The little dog bolted out the bedroom door and down the hall. “Clyde, come back here.”
Zan hurried after him, but stopped when she heard him yelp and a door slam. Before she could get more than two feet, Dale appeared at the end of the hall.
“What…what did you do with my dog?” Zan heard the pup scratching on the door to the coat closet.
“Just gave us some privacy.” Dale ran his hands through his hair. It was the first time she’d ever seen it mussed and not perfectly kempt. “I, uh, I should apologize.”
Zan backed into the bedroom. Her mind raced. The only exit aside from the door Dale blocked, the window on the far side, was painted shut. She had no escape. “Apologize?”
“I didn’t know you were out at the ranch. I thought…” He ran his hand through his hair again.
What the hell was going on? She thought the sheriff was going to arrest him. Even his father couldn’t—and from what she’d heard wouldn’t—get him out of trouble this time.
“Why were you out there?” His voice rose. “You and stupid-ass Bowman were on the outs. I don’t know why you make me hurt you.” He fisted his hands at his sides. “You always make me hurt you.” He charged at Zan and knocked her to the bed.
She tried to yell, but could do little more than suck a lungful of air when her shoulder wrenched.
“No. You should have been mine.” Spit foamed at the corners of his mouth. “Mine.”
The pair wrestled. Zan darted her head when he tried to kiss her. His clammy lips pressed onto her cheek. “Get off me, Dale.”
She groped out beside her. The first thing her fingers made purchase on, she swung at him. The man rolled off her, mouth agape for only a moment before he laughed. “You’re gonna need something stronger than that, darlin’.” He yanked the huge teddy bear from her and tossed it to the other side of the room with little effort.
Zan scrambled from the bed. “Oh yeah? Like this?” She grabbed the Jim Sundberg autographed bat her brothers had given to her when she was little. The first one-handed swing netted her nothing but his shirt—and a hell of a lot of pain. Again the jackass laughed. Until Zan lunged and, with a tad more effort despite the pain, swung again and connected with the man’s side.
“Ow, you bitch.” Dale tried to grab the bat from her, but she hefted it—as best as she could—once more and smashed it down on the top of his shiny eel-skin booted-foot. He screamed and fell to the floor.
She’d have thought he was a four-year-old with a boo-boo, not some crazed man who had broken into her house with malicious intent, the way he tossed and turned on the carpet and cried.
A commotion came from the front of the house and a thunder of footsteps rushed toward the back.
Jacob.
He looked at her for a long moment before he focused his attention to the heap of blubbering cowboy on her floor.
“Bastard.” He swung his booted foot back and kicked Dale in almost the exact same spot she’d hit with Jim Sundberg’s John Hancock. He lay lifeless, his whimpering stopped. When Jacob reared to do it a second time, Zan called his name.
“Don’t. Enough.”
He hesitated, she thought he might kick Dale anyway but finally he nodded and moved to her side. “You okay?”
“I think so.”
Jacob looked as if he wanted to say more but Quint ran into the bedroom with Reese right behind him. “Sheriff’s here.”
Zan sank down onto the edge of the bed—shaking.
Quint sat next to her. “You okay, Zan?”
“Better.” She didn’t quite know what to say.
He wrapped his arm around her. “We tried calling your house, but got no answer. Couldn’t get the sheriff either. The snow knocked out a bunch of the phone lines.” She didn’t know who shook more—her or Quint. “We thought… Good thing Jacob got here.”
“I didn’t do anything. She clobbered him before I got here.” He held up the bat. A huge crack snaked down the side.
“Good going, Aunt Zan.” Anger rather than amusement, laced Quint’s words. “Should have beat the shit out of him while you were at it. I wouldn’t have left him walking.”
“I don’t think he’ll be walking much.” Her voice steadier than she thought possible, she glanced down at the man. The terror that had plagued finally ended. She knew the sheriff would have him locked away for a long while.
Relief washed through her. She glanced over at Jacob. He hadn’t looked at her since the sheriff started trying to rouse Dale.
Despite everything, her fear, her anger, all she could think of was Jacob. She didn’t think it was possible to love him more than she did at that moment.
Was there still a chance for the two of them? She shouldn’t be thinking of him, thinking of wanting him back, but she couldn’t help it.
A short snort of laughter eked out of her, what timing.
Quint must have misunderstood her laugh. He tightened his arm around her as Jacob helped the sheriff drag Dale to his feet still dazed but awake.
“I’m going to take him down and lock him up.”
———
Jacob paced the living room floor while Dr. Hambert checked Zan out despite her protests.
“I swear I’m fine.” Zan swatted away his hand. “Can y’all give me a minute alone with Jacob?”
His stomach lurched.
Quint and Bonnie followed the doctor outside. Luckily, all the deputies had left shortly after Reese took Dale in. Jacob wasn’t sure he wanted to be left alone with Zan. He didn’t know what to say to her.
“Um, are you sure you’re okay. Not hurting anywhere?” he asked finally.
“I’m feeling much better. My shoulder still hurts some though.” She tilted her head to her bandaged shoulder and arm in a sling. “I want to thank you.”
“Thank me?” Great, that’s all he wanted—needed—Zan’s thanks. “For what?”
“The other day when you rushed me to Dr. Hambert’s house. He said if I had lost much more blood… Well, it would have been too late.” She swallowed hard. “And just now. Um, thanks.”
His heart sank a bit. He wanted, more than anything, for her to say she loved him and didn’t want to leave Wyoming. But he’d seen the packing boxes in her room. This sounded a lot like thanks and good-bye.
“I didn’t do anything anyone else wouldn’t do.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at his scuffed boots.
“That’s not true, Jacob. You did a lot more than anyone else. You always do.”
He looked up at Zan, wondering what she was talking about. He shrugged and
made no comment. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Despite all she’d just been through that she could still smile amazed him. His Zan always did.
His… If only…
She stood and took several steps to close the distance between them until he could almost reach out and touch her. But he didn’t.
“You shouldn’t be modest. It wasn’t anyone who ordered Quint to get the truck when most would have waited for Dr. Hambert to come to them. It wasn’t anyone who held me in their arms to comfort me.”
Jacob watched her eyes dance as she spoke. He couldn’t bear to see the light in her eyes. A light he would never see again when she left, so he turned away from her.
“It wasn’t anyone—” with a gentle grip she tugged his face back to look at her, “—who sang to me.”
“Oh. You remember that?”
Her smile broke in earnest and her straight white teeth shone. “Yep.”
“Well…” He stepped back until she no longer touched him. “I had to do something. It was all I could think of.”
Her smile never faltered.
Jacob, unsure and nervous to boot, pulled his hands from his pockets and cracked his knuckles. “Look, I should probably go now that Reese has Dale. I need to get back to the ranch. Thanks for…thanking me.” Jacob turned and headed toward the front door, to be anywhere else but standing there with Zan. “See you around,” he called over his shoulder.
“Jacob Crandall Bowman, get your butt back here.”
Jacob paused, mid step. What had she just said? What had she called him?
“Jacob Crandall Bowman,” she repeated as if she read his mind, “You heard me. Get your pouting cowboy butt back over here.”
He swiveled on his feet toward Zan to find the biggest damn grin he’d ever seen on her face.
“How did you know my middle name?” He walked back to his previous spot just in front of her.
“Oscar told me.”
“When did you talk to my grandfather?” His palms sweated. He wanted to hope—but he was afraid to.
“He called me this morning to see how I was feeling. Not that you bothered to tell him I was hurt.” Her smile left, but her face remained pleasant. “If my aunt hadn’t called him, he may never have known.”
“So?” Jacob’s heart rate accelerated. “I hadn’t planned on telling him.”
“Why not?” Zan’s brow scrunched.
“Why would I? He’s old. He doesn’t need to worry about stuff like that.”
“Yeah, but that’s what family does. They worry about one another.”
“He’s not your…” He heard right. But he had to be sure. “Did you say family?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Meaning?”
“I know you’re a bright boy, Jacob. I should think you know the meaning of the word family.” She reached out and took one of his hands in hers. “I will, however, assume the little stunt you pulled at the jail was a momentary lapse in judgment. Did you think you could scare me off by pretending you don’t love me?”
Jacob’s chest tightened. “I, uh…”
“I was relieved when you told me why you did what you did. But it still hurt.” Her face paled a bit and tears wet the corners of her eyes.
“I thought it’d be best. Plus, I didn’t think you’d want a man like me.”
“What does that mean? ‘A man like you’?”
He might as well lay all his cards on the line. “One who didn’t stand up for himself. It was easier to solve your problems, make your decisions than deal with my own issues.” He pulled away from her. “You hit the nail on the head with coward.”
Zan stepped in front of him, wrapped her arm around him and forced him to look at her. “I was mad when I said that. You are no more coward than Clyde here.” She pointed to her little dog licking himself in the corner. “Do you think he backed down when Dale broke in here?”
She shuddered in his arms. “But I did back down. Every time the man came at me I walked away.”
“I’m not saying this right.” She gave him a brief kiss and sat on the bed then patted the seat beside until he sat. “Sometimes the bravest thing to do is not let the other guy push your buttons, bait you into a fight. Anyone can get hotheaded and jump in without thinking. But it’s just as brave to walk away.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so. Do you think I’d fall for a coward?”
Jacob’s chest all but burst, while Zan kept talking.
“I’ll admit when I found Trisha in your house, I was ready to go back to Texas.”
“I didn’t…”
“Let me finish please.” She squeezed his hand. “For a minute, maybe two. But I know nothing happened between you and Trisha.” She pressed her warm palm to his cheek. “I trust you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” For the first time in a long time, a smile curved his mouth.
“And she came to visit me this morning.”
“Oh she did?”
“She said she came to try to win you back and all you talked about was me.”
He wanted to laugh at her honesty.
“I knew you were smitten, but you talked the poor woman’s ear off.”
“Smitten?” He snorted. “I have never been smitten in my life.”
“Oh.” Zan’s expression fell a tad.
He could just eat her up. He took her face in his hands. “That is, until I met you. I am flat out, downright, like never before, head over heels in love with you, Suzanne Marie Walters.” He leaned in and kissed her full on the mouth.
He knew at that moment he would never again worry about whether she was giving anything up to be with him, because he would do whatever it took to make her happy for the rest of his life.
Zan pulled back and looked into his eyes. “How did you know my middle name? I never told you.”
“I have my ways, too. A man can’t expect to marry a woman not knowing her full name.”
He watched Zan blink several times. “Did you say marry?”
“Yes.” He kissed her again for a long bone-melting moment. Then he released her. He sank down onto one knee and held onto her hand. “If you’ll have me. I want to marry you and have a house full of little ones running around. I love you, Zan.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment. Panic rose in his stomach. He raised his eyebrows and gave her a pleading look.
An uneasy expression pulled her mouth down. “Define ‘a house full of little ones’.” Her voice was filled with mock anxiety and a smile curved her lips.
Jacob released a pent up breath. “As many as you want.”
“Even if I want three or four—or six?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am. The more the merrier.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And think of all the fun making those babies.”
Zan swatted at his shoulder and giggled. It was the sweetest sound he’d heard in a long time.
“But—” she released his hand and cupped his chin, “—I’m a package deal. I have a chubby little companion that’s along for the ride.”
As if to prove a point, Clyde came running around the corner and skidded to an almost-stop, ramming into Jacob’s bent knee.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Jacob ruffled the pup’s furry head.
“I think you got yourself a deal, Mr. Bowman.” She winked at Jacob and he stood. “Only…”
“Only?” He stopped halfway.
“I don’t believe in long engagements?”
He continued to rise. When he was at his full height, he ran his knuckles over Zan’s cheek. “Okay.”
“If I agreed to marry you, I would want to do it right away.”
“I see nothing wrong with that.”
“Good.” She tipped up on her toes and kissed him. “I don’t want to give you time to get cold feet and back out.”
He took her in his arms, careful not to hurt her injured shoulder. He kissed her, then whispered gently against her lips, “Not a chance.”
&n
bsp; Epilogue
Zan could hear Jacob singing. His sweet voice filled the house. She remembered the first time she had heard him and how his voice had given her strength when she needed it. His singing made her realize how close she had come to losing everything thanks to one crazed man. If Dale Holstrom hadn’t been locked up in prison, she honestly didn’t think she would have been able to stay in Paintbrush despite how much she loved Jacob.
Fortunately, the bully’s conviction would keep him locked up until he was an old man. Even his father had testified against him, stating he could no longer tolerate his son’s blatant disregard for the law.
She and Jacob hadn’t waited for the trial to wed. Zan’s family flew up from Texas the week after he proposed to her and the whole town of Paintbrush threw a party the likes of which none had seen since or before. With Mackenzie as her maid of honor and Quint the best man, Zan and Jacob said their vows in front of all their friends and family.
She couldn’t believe their second anniversary approached in less than two weeks as Jacob’s voice brought her back to the present. Every time she heard the dulcet tones, her heart gave an extra little pump of pride.
Walking down the hallway, she searched out the man who still made her pulse race with a simple kiss.
She peaked into the first door she came to and found him in the rocker with the one-year-old—who mirrored both parents in a beautiful mix of strawberry blonde locks and chocolate brown eyes—on his lap. She watched her husband with their daughter, Emily, as his face lit up at the child’s smile. Zan breathed a sigh of contentment and patted the slight swell of her abdomen. They had wasted no time filling the house with children.
“Mama.” Emily held her arms out to her mother. Jacob looked to where his daughter stared and his eyes met Zan’s. The intense smile that spread across his face, crinkling his dark eyes, warmed Zan and reminded her how lucky she was.
She joined her daughter and husband in the room. Jacob slid his arm around Zan’s waist and pulled her down to him. “I got my two best girls.” He kissed the top of his daughter’s head and then his wife’s lips.
“I am the luckiest man.” His words echoed her thoughts, when he finally took a breath.
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