HAPPY NEW YEAR, BABY FORTUNE!

by Leanne Banks

“I have no idea,” Stacey said. “Joe hasn’t been in town for ages.”

  “Maybe he has amnesia. Maybe this is part of his concussion,” Rachel suggested.

  “I don’t know,” Stacey said. “If it keeps happening, maybe we should ask the doctor about it.”

  Colton’s parents returned and shooed both Rachel and Stacey away to take a break. Gritty-eyed and tired, but mostly confident that Colton was on the road to recovery, Stacey returned home and fell into bed. When she awakened, it was early evening, and she checked on Colton via his parents. He’d been moved to a room and was doing much better.

  Stacey sighed with relief and spent the rest of the afternoon taking care of Piper. Her daughter seemed thrilled to see her, which eased some of the upset and trauma she’d experienced during the past week. Rocking Piper to sleep was the purest form of therapy for Stacey. She kissed her sweet baby’s head and put her to bed. Afterward Stacey updated her mother about Colton and his injuries. Thank goodness, her mother didn’t ask any probing questions about Stacey’s feelings about Colton. She went to bed, planning to visit Colton the next morning.

  The next morning, Stacey dressed Piper in a cute pink outfit and made the hour-long trip to Lubbock. Piper snoozed on and off, and was so quiet Stacey had to check every now and then to make sure the baby was breathing. When they arrived at the hospital, Stacey changed Piper’s diaper in the backseat of the car in the parking lot. The cold winter wind whipped around her. Piper’s eyes widened like saucers from the chill.

  “Wheee, that’s breezy, isn’t it?” she said, quickly refastening Piper’s pink outfit and pulling her baby up against her.

  Stacey tucked Piper under her coat as she made her way to Colton’s room, where his parents sat next to him.

  “Hi,” she said. “I thought you might enjoy some visitors.”

  Colton looked up, and, seeing Piper, he gave a groggy smile. “Hey, how’s the little one doing?”

  “Great. She barely made a peep on the way. An hour’s drive. There’s hope that she will be a good traveler.”

  “Joe didn’t come to see you, did he?” Colton asked.

  Stacey slid a questioning glance toward Colton’s parents, but his mother just shook her head and rose. “Come on, Frank. Let’s get some coffee.”

  “I just had coffee,” Frank said.

  “Well, I want some more,” Olive said firmly.

  Frank sighed and rose to his feet. “Thanks for coming,” he said to Stacey and gave a little wave to Piper.

  “You’ve mentioned Joe several times,” Stacey said. “I thought it was a result of your concussion. Why do you keep talking about him? Did you have a hallucination?”

  Colton gave a short laugh, then grabbed his bruised ribs. “No hallucination. He showed up at the bar the other day.”

  Shocked and confused, Stacey stared at Colton. “Joe? In Horseback Hollow? Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I punched him in the face,” Colton said.

  Stacey covered her mouth with her free hand. “Oh, my goodness. How did that happen?”

  “Easy,” Colton said. “He opened his mouth and started talking. I gave him twenty-four hours to go see you. Then, I told him I was taking my turn.”

  Stacey sank onto a chair, pulling Piper onto her lap. She shook her head but felt no sadness. “He never showed.”

  Colton took a deep breath and winced. “The night of the wreck, I was counting down the minutes to come see you.”

  Stacey’s heart squeezed tight. “Oh, Colton, no.” She rubbed her forehead. “That means you would have never had that accident if you had decided to stay home and wait until morning.”

  “I couldn’t wait,” Colton said. He closed his eyes. “I have a confession to make. Back before Joe proposed to you, I told him he needed to put a ring on your finger. You’re a special girl, and someone was going to steal you away. He proposed to you the next day.” Colton sighed, opening his eyes, his gaze full of regret. “I always felt guilty—that maybe you wouldn’t have gotten pregnant if I hadn’t given Joe that push.”

  Stacey blinked at the revelation. She felt a rush of emotions. All those months ago, Colton had been protective of her. What Colton told her just confirmed what she already knew. Joe had never truly loved her. He might not have wanted to lose her, but he hadn’t loved her. “I hate that he had to be pushed along, and that I believed in him. I hate that he abandoned both Piper and me. But I could never regret having Piper. She’s the light of my life.”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been through a terrible time because of Joe.”

  “Why did you give him twenty-four hours?” Stacey asked.

  Colton shrugged his shoulders and winced slightly. He looked away, then back at her. “I’m in love with you. I don’t know exactly when it happened or how. It just did. I fell in love with you. And Piper. Maybe I shouldn’t have threatened Joe—”

  “Stop,” she said breathlessly and nearly fell out of the chair. “Did you just say you love me?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, I did.”

  “And Piper. You love her, too?”

  “I do,” he said, almost defiantly.

  Stacey jumped from her chair and planted a kiss on his mouth. “I love you, too, Colton Foster. So very, very much.”

  He met her gaze. “Are you sure?”

  “Very, very sure. I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. Say it again, please. Say you love me again so I can be sure. I feel like I dreamed it.”

  “I love you, Stacey Fortune Jones. I want you to be Stacey Fortune Jones Foster,” he said.

  Her heart stopped in her chest. “I feel as if I’m walking in a dream.”

  “I want to make your dreams come true as much as I possibly can,” he said. “Even if that means sitting in tiny chairs I’m afraid of breaking for the sake of having a tea party with Piper.”

  Stacey’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Colton.”

  Piper made a chirpy sound, and he turned to her. “I wanted to take this slow and be sensible, but life is too short. Stacey and Piper, will you marry me?”

  “Yes, yes and yes,” Stacey said and kissed Colton again.

  His parents walked into the room. “Everything okay?” Mrs. Foster asked.

  “Everything’s great,” Colton said. “Stacey, Piper and I are getting married.”

  “Well, thank goodness,” his mother said, her voice full of relief and emotion. “We couldn’t be happier.”

  “I guess we’re going to have to build a house on the ranch for you three,” Mr. Foster said. “We’ll get started as soon as possible.”

  “Dad, I’d really like you to see a doctor about your back. I don’t want you working on a house for me when you might hurt yourself.”

  His father frowned and shrugged. “Your sister’s taking me for an appointment to see a doctor next week. I didn’t want to do it, but she told me I owed it to you. I’m gonna hire a full-time hand and a few part-time guys, too. It’s time. I’ve got more money in the bank than anyone knows, but don’t spread that around. We’ll get through. I just want you to get well.”

  Stacey squeezed one of Colton’s hands. “This means you can concentrate on getting better,” she said. “That’s what we all want.”

  * * *

  The next day, Colton arrived home from the hospital and was recovering by leaps and bounds. His doctor called him superhuman because he was healing so quickly. Stacey constantly chided him to take his time and rest,
but she could see he found it hard not to forge into his regular routine. She visited him every day, and every day, it seemed as if their love for each other grew stronger.

  A few days after that, Colton stood with her in the den of her parents’ home. The room was usually a warm, welcoming place for family and visitors, but not today.

  Today, the visitor was the biological father of her child. Stacey had fought the meeting with Joe, but Colton had insisted that she and Piper deserved some support from Joe. Stacey couldn’t be less interested in seeing Joe. In many ways, she didn’t want Piper exposed to such a man. She could only hope that someday he would grow up.

  A knock sounded at the door, and she looked at Colton. “You’ll be okay,” he said. “I’m here with you. You’re just looking out for Piper. Remember that.”

  Stacey took a deep breath and answered the door to her former fiancé and Piper’s biological father. He didn’t look nearly as handsome as she remembered. She wondered how that had happened. “Hi, Joe. Come on inside,” she said.

  Joe entered with a slightly ill expression on his face. “Yeah, uh. I know I need to give you child support,” he said. “I should have done it before, but I just couldn’t face the idea that I had a child. I’ll catch up,” he promised.

  “That’s good,” Stacey said. She wouldn’t thank him. This was long overdue. “Do you want to see her?”

  Joe took a deep breath. “Yeah. Yeah. I want to see her,” he said as if he were facing the guillotine.

  “I’ll go get her,” Stacey said, and collected Piper from her mother who was staying in the kitchen. Jeanne was still too angry with Joe to face him, and Stacey had made sure her father was working away from the house that day. She picked up her precious baby girl and carried her to the front foyer.

  Joe stared at Piper for a long moment. “She’s beautiful.”

  “Yes, she is and always has been,” Stacey said. “I can’t thank you for how you left us, but I can thank you for giving her to me.”

  Joe pursed his lips together in sadness. “I’d like to try to see her every now and then.”

  “I think she deserves that,” Stacey said. “I think she deserves the best you can give her.”

  Joe gave a slow nod. “I don’t know how to be a good father. I never had one. I’m gonna need some hints and nudges. My father was never there for me when I needed him. I was afraid I couldn’t be a good father when you told me you were pregnant. That’s why I told you that you should—” He cleared his throat. “I was wrong,” he said in a gruff voice.

  “You can put your meetings with Piper on your schedule on your smartphone calendar. You put your other appointments on there, don’t you?” Colton asked.

  “Yeah. I never thought of that,” Joe said.

  “You can start now, then,” Colton said. “Input a date three weeks from today to call Stacey about when you can see Piper.”

  Joe pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tapped the information into his calendar. “Done. I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you, Stacey. But I’m going to try and—” Joe glanced at Colton. “It looks like you’re in good hands now.”

  Stacey smiled. “Best hands ever,” she said.

  * * *

  Ten days later, Rachel insisted on taking care of Piper for a full twenty-four-hour time period. Colton had completely recovered from the accident. He picked up Stacey and drove his new truck to Vicker’s Corners so they could take a stroll downtown and spend the night at a bed-and-breakfast after dinner.

  “It’s perfect, but freezing,” Stacey said, snuggling her gloved hands in his.

  “It’s the dead of winter,” he said and looked down at her. “But I’m glad you think it’s perfect.”

  “If I’m with you, it’s perfect,” she said. “And if you’re recovering—”

  “Mostly there,” he said.

  “But don’t push it,” she urged. “If you’re recovering, that’s perfect, too. Things could have been terribly different.” Her heart caught at the thought of losing Colton, and her smile fell.

  Colton caught her chin with his thumb. “Hey, no sad faces tonight. We’re together and happy, right?”

  Stacey nodded. “Yes, yes, yes.”

  “I like the sound of that word,” he said with a sly, sexy look. “Let’s have dinner,” he said, and they stepped inside the restaurant.

  The host led them to a table in front of a fireplace. “Oh, this is fabulous. I feel as if I’m in heaven.”

  “It gets better,” he promised.

  They ordered dinner and were served a delicious meal. Stacey savored every bite. She patted her belly toward the end of the dinner. “I don’t think I can eat any more, but I would love some of that chocolate dessert.”

  “I’ll get it to go,” he said.

  After he paid the check, they walked to their charming suite at the bed-and-breakfast. Stacey couldn’t remember a more wonderful evening. With Piper in Rachel’s care, and the full support of her family and Colton’s, she couldn’t feel happier to have such a special evening with Colton. A bottle of champagne welcomed them as they walked into the room. A gas fire flickered in the fireplace.

  “Like it?” he asked.

  “Oh, it’s amazing,” she said. “I love a gas fireplace. No work and all the pleasure.”

  “Does that mean you’d like that in my house plans?” he asked.

  “I don’t need a gas fireplace to be happy with you,” she insisted.

  “I’ve got a lot packed into my savings account, Stacey. Speak up about what you want,” he said, putting his arm around her back.

  “Okay,” she whispered. “Gas fireplace and hot tub big enough for you and me.”

  Colton’s eyes darkened with sensuality. “Sold. I like the way you think,” he said, and took her mouth in a kiss.

  With Colton holding her in his arms, she almost forgot about her surroundings. It was so good to hold him and kiss him. It was so good to be alone with him and to know he was healed from the accident.

  Colton pulled back. “Let’s have a glass of champagne,” he said.

  Stacey would rather have had a bucketful of Colton, but she went along with him. He pulled the champagne bottle from the ice and popped the cork. Grabbing a glass, he spilled the bubbly liquid into the flute and offered it to her. He poured a second flute for himself.

  “To you,” he said. “The woman I love. I’ve asked you once, but I want to do it the right way this time.”

  Colton knelt on one knee, and Stacey’s breath hung in her throat. The past few weeks had caused such a roller coaster of emotions. She felt as if she were taking another heart-pounding turn on the ride. “What are you doing?”

  He pulled a jeweler’s box from his pants pocket and flipped it open to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. “Will you marry me?”

  Stacey’s heart squeezed so tight she could hardly speak. “Oh, yes, Colton. I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

  Colton rose to his feet and kissed her again. “I feel the same way, Stacey Fortune Jones. I can’t wait for you, Piper and me to start our lives together.”

  Stacey couldn’t believe how her life had turned out. She was in love with the best man ever, and her daughter would have a daddy to show her the stuff of which a real man was made.

  Stacey had never believed much in chance, but she’d just received the best fortune ever in Colton Foster. Love forever. She’d come from a long line of lovers, and now she was getting her chance at the
love of a lifetime.

  * * * * *

  Don’t miss the next installment in the new Special Edition continuity,

  THE FORTUNES OF TEXAS: WELCOME TO HORSEBACK HOLLOW!

  Can bachelor-with-a-heart-of-gold Jude Fortune Jones offer beautiful Gabriella Mendoza a chance at the love she’s always wanted?

  Look for

  A SWEETHEART FOR JUDE FORTUNE

  by Cindy Kirk

  On sale February 2014, wherever Harlequin books are sold.

  Keep reading for an excerpt from MATCHED BY MOONLIGHT by Gina Wilkins.

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  Chapter One

  Early-morning fog danced in wispy tendrils outside the bay window of the breakfast nook, making the rural, southwestern Virginia landscape resemble a dreamy watercolor. Leaning against the cherry window frame, Kinley Carmichael sipped cinnamon-laced coffee and studied the pink-and-gray sunrise framed by lace curtains. Her sentimental younger sister, Bonnie, would see that lovely spring view and sigh, thinking of fairy tales and romance. Practical and pragmatic Kinley saw an excellent photo-op for the Bride Mountain Inn website. In fact, maybe tomorrow morning she’d head out early with her camera in hopes of capturing a similar scene for advertising purposes, aiming to appeal to potential guests looking for quiet relaxation in pristine, natural surroundings...just the ambiance the inn aimed to provide.