by Erin Wright
Now she really was sure she was delusional. “You want me to go work things out with Wyatt?” she asked, feeling about ten feet thick. Because that was surely not what he’d meant to say.
Surely.
“Wyatt and I had our chat this morning and cleared the air between us. I’m just saying that you need to go do that with him yourself. Now whether you end up doing…whatever, is up to you two.” His cheeks turned just a little pink and he looked distinctly uncomfortable. “You two are adults and can do as you like. I’m just telling you that you need to go talk to him.” He put just a smidge bit of emphasis on the word talk and Abby swallowed the giggles threatening to erupt out of her again.
She hadn’t been asking if she ought to go bang Wyatt, but obviously that’s what her father thought she’d meant, and now…well, the topic was just too weird by half. She was going to leave before her father felt compelled to have The Talk with her. Not that she could get pregnant, of course, but STDs…
She realized she was still just standing there in her father’s office. “Leaving!” she blurted out and did an about face to head to the door.
It was time to talk to Wyatt Miller, and, God willing, a whole lot more.
Chapter 45
Wyatt
He was lying on the couch with an ice pack over his eyes, trying not to let the world whirl around him too much, when he heard the crunch of tires on gravel. For a man who didn’t normally receive many visitors, he sure was getting a lot of them lately. He swung his feet over and sat up with a groan. It was probably Stetson or Declan, here to chew him out for leaving the party early. He’d meant to call and apologize to Stetson and relay what happened, but hadn’t honestly felt up to it.
Well, whether he felt up to it or not, it was happening now. He forced himself to his feet and shuffled over to the front door. At least he’d taken a shower when he got home, so he didn’t smell like he fell into a vat of beer anymore. He wasn’t sure if Stetson would let him talk long enough to explain that smell away.
He opened the door just as Abby was raising her hand to knock. They both froze, staring at each other.
“Abby?” he finally said. That couldn’t be right. He had to still be dreaming. He closed his eyes, counted to three, and opened them again. She was still standing there.
“Pinch me!” he said impulsively, holding out his arm.
She shot him a look that clearly questioned his sanity, but did so anyway.
“Ow!” he yelped, yanking his arm back.
He was awake all right.
He stood back and held the door open for her. “Come on in,” he said graciously, as if that whole exchange had not just happened. Perhaps if he ignored it, she would too. Sending him a sideways glance that told him she had not in fact contracted amnesia in the last 30 seconds, she walked past him and into the house.
Which was when he first noticed that she wasn’t wearing her uniform, or her Wranglers and a pearl-snap western shirt. She was wearing slacks that hugged her curves just right and a low-cut blue blouse that hugged and showed off her upper curves just right.
He struggled to keep his eyes on her face, her breasts acting like a magnet for his eyeballs. She looked damn amazing, with makeup and hair curled and…he breathed in deep…lemons. How was it that she always smelled like lemons?
“We need to talk,” she finally said into the silence. “Believe it or not, my father ordered me over here.”
“Your dad is playing matchmaker?” Wyatt asked incredulously.
“Believe me, I think it was just as shocking to me.” She sent him a grin. “We veered dangerously close to the birds and the bees territory today.” She waved her hand in the air dismissively. “Never mind that. I’m here to apologize to you about last night. I should’ve realized that something was going on because you were just acting so out of character, but then again, you’d been in a massive fight and your face was banged up, so that part kinda felt pretty in character.” She let out a short laugh. “I should’ve known that something was going on, though.”
She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye, growing completely serious. “I’m sorry for believing the worst in you. I’m sorry for thinking that you hadn’t changed.”
He walked over to her and scooped her hands up into his. “Abby, you had every reason to think what you did. Hell, this past summer, I got into a fistfight with Stetson over him almost losing the Miller Family Farm. I rearranged a guy’s face and he ended up in the hospital. I’m not saying that both of them didn’t deserve exactly what happened,” he gave her a sorry-not-sorry grin, “but I am saying that I’m not exactly known for having Mother Theresa qualities. You can call me many things, but peacemaker ain’t one of them.”
He raised her hands to his mouth and kissed them. “I’ve spent years punching my way through every situation. I consider a conversation with Stetson that doesn’t end in a fistfight to be a win. Being around you and Adam and the kids and the counselor…it’s showing me that punching people isn’t always necessary. I will admit, though, that if I see those three scumbags again, I may or may not be tempted to break my vow of peace.”
Her eyes, watching his every movement with kindness and passion, lit up with laughter at that comment. “I’d be tempted to hold ‘em down for you,” she admitted. “If there was ever a group of people deserving a beat down by you, it’s those three. I’m just glad they’re as dumb as they are mean. If they’d forced you to drink a couple of shots of whisky or something, and if they’d managed to keep their mouths shut instead of getting wasted down at O’Malley’s and bragging to anyone who’d stop long enough to listen, I doubt we would’ve ever figured it out.”
“Truth be told, the old Wyatt deserved to have that believed about him. I’ve done a lot of shitty things in my life. I’m not about to pretend that I don’t deserve to have people question my motives and my actions. But you’re showing me a better way, and…I like it. I like not having a ball of anger knotting up my stomach all the time. Strange but true.” They laughed quietly together at that, and then it struck him. “Hey, I missed it – am I getting a niece or a nephew?”
“A nephew,” Abby said, a huge grin on her face. “The interior of the cake was blue. I thought Stetson was gonna pick Jennifer up and carry her around, he was so happy. The thing is, I think he would’ve been just that happy if the cake was pink. He’s thrilled to death about this baby. And Carmelita too. I know you guys miss your parents something fierce, but this baby is lucky to have a grandma like Carmelita around.”
Wyatt nodded. “I was too old for her to step into the role of mother when Mom passed, but Stetson was just a kid – only twelve – and I know they became really close after that. I was lucky to have my mom around until I was 18. She was such a wonderful lady – she would’ve loved you.”
Love.
It was time. He pulled in a deep breath. “Abby Connelly, I love you. I love you with all of my heart and soul. A part of me will always love and miss Shelly and Sierra, but they are my past. You are my future. It doesn’t matter to me that you can’t have kids. Sure, I’d love a little Abby running around, but more important than some hypothetical child is being with you. That’s what matters in this world, and it’s actually Shelly and Sierra who taught me that. I thought I had forever with them. I thought…” His voice broke, and he cleared it, trying to move past the lump in his throat. “I was wrong about them. I don’t want to be wrong about you. I love you—”
She pressed her lips against him then, cutting him off, and he felt moisture on his hands that were cupping her face and he knew she was crying but she was kissing him and tugging at his shirt and he couldn’t help kissing her back, tears be damned. She could be crying tears of happiness for all he knew. Right then, all he wanted was to show her how much he loved her, with his tongue and his body and his hands.
He scooped her up into his arms and began carrying her up the stairs. “What?!” she shrieked when he picked her up. “Wyatt, you’re going to
hurt yourself!”
“Don’t you worry about me,” he said with a huge grin down at her. “I’m just fine. Not as fine as you’re going to be in just a couple of minutes here, of course.”
She grinned back up at him, and he took the stairs two at a time, the pain that had been wracking his body just a half hour before mysteriously gone.
Abby had just that kind of effect on him.
Once they made it to the bedroom, he slowly allowed her to slide down his body, the ache of his cock growing stronger by the moment. She spun around and flung herself against him, her hands starting to work on the buttons of his shirt. His hands slid down her back, enjoying the feel of her beneath his fingertips.
She managed to unfasten the last button just as his hands came to rest on the curve of her ass, and she tugged at it, the fabric reluctantly pulling free of his Wranglers.
She placed her hands on his chest. The coolness of her soft hands felt wonderful against his skin. The trail left by her touch excited him, reminding him how much he wanted this. How much he wanted Abby. He knew there would never be words enough to describe how much he wanted her…forever.
Abby pulled away from him and continued her work on releasing him from his jeans. Wyatt also desperately wanted to help her out of her clothes but the frantic way she was working on his clothing made it the best decision to stay out of her way for the moment. There would be time for him later. Losing a finger would not help the mood.
She was actually very quick about working the button and zipper. Wyatt made short work of kicking off his boots and sliding his underwear down to the ground. Somehow, he ended up completely naked and Abby was still wearing everything she’d shown up in.
That wasn’t fair, not one bit.
Wyatt leaned into her, catching her lips with his. The kiss was flaming hot as they pressed furiously against each other. His hands worked feverishly to remove her soft blouse while maintaining their kiss.
Finally, he finished the last button. The fabric parted, revealing her lacy bra and her perfect breasts. Wyatt froze, taking in the sight. His fingers lightly brushed over the pale scars crisscrossing her stomach, and he knew from the extent of the damage that she’d been lucky to live through the accident.
He was lucky she lived through the accident. He didn’t want to contemplate a life without Abby.
He finally ran his finger inside the waist of the well-fitted slacks, momentarily confused by the lack of snap or button on the front. Not wanting to show his lack of experience, he continued to slide his fingers around her waist, and found the hook and zipper right in the middle of her back.
There you are.
Wrapping his other arm around her, Wyatt pulled her close to him and used both hands to free her of the barrier between them, and he made it happen with only a little bit of fumbling. The smooth fabric slid silently down her legs and she stepped clear without removing her tongue from his mouth.
Wyatt finally broke the kiss by picking her up again. He carried her the last couple of steps to the bed and laid her down gently. He stood for just a moment, wanting to take her all in at once. Her perfect toes reached out towards him, sliding up and down his thighs as she let him look.
He felt himself stiffen further at the sight. She was so gorgeous. He’d been getting excited from the very beginning, of course, but this perfect woman lying there on his bed with that look in her eye…well, Wyatt couldn’t help responding.
He reached down and hooked his fingers under the thin strings of fabric of her panties riding high over her hips and slipped the minuscule bit of lace off her body. He joined her on the bed, his knees landing between her opened thighs. His hands planted beside her head on the mattress. Bending his elbows, he kissed her, his need coming through his lips.
This kiss was just as hot as the one when they were standing, but this time, it was more. This was an invitation and he took it. Keeping their lips pressed tightly together, he lowered his hips and in one smooth motion, slid into her. Her heat, the moisture…she was going to be his undoing if he didn’t hold himself back just a little. He had to last longer than this…
Her arms came up, wrapping around his back, her grip surprisingly strong and tight. She locked them together as he started rocking back and forth.
Wyatt desperately tried to express his love and desire for this woman with every thrust, thinking the words I love you with every movement, a mantra building inside of him.
Finally, his control was gone and they melded together and time froze. Nothing existed but them and their future that was just beginning. Wyatt’s heart released a knot of tension he didn’t know he’d been holding onto, and he allowed himself to become one with the woman he loved.
Epilogue
Abby
She looked out into the bright sunshine outside the kitchen window. It was a gorgeous August day…as long as she stayed inside the house. It was too hot outside, even up in the mountains, but inside…she got to admire the sunshine without having to be baked in it.
She heard a hiss, a low woof, and then a yowl as Jasmine and Maggie Mae took off up the stairs. She could hear them tearing around the second story, a bump, and then a crash. With a half laugh, half cry, Abby dried her hands and headed up the stairs herself. If these two didn’t kill each other soon, she might do it for them.
Ever since she’d moved into Wyatt’s place – her childhood home – a month ago, they’d been doing their best to assassinate the other, often sneaking up on each other when one or the other was daring to actually take a nap. She figured they’d learn to like each other…right about the time the last lamp in the house was broken.
She went into the office and found Jasmine perched on top of her desk, hissing at Maggie, her back arched and her tail as big around as a Christmas ham. Maggie was pacing back and forth below her, trying to figure out how to get to the hissing cat without actually getting up on the furniture.
“Maggie Mae!” Abby bellowed and the dog instantly crouched, looking forlorn. “Go downstairs right now!” Maggie turned and trotted out of the room, her tail tucked between her legs.
“And you, young lady!” Abby turned to glare at her non-repentant cat who decided that since her arch enemy was gone from the room, it was petting time. Jasmine looked up at her, her big baby blues looking so mournful as she held a white paw up in the air.
“You have got to stop antagonizing Maggie Mae, pretty girl,” Abby said, instantly softening towards her baby as Jasmine continued to look pitifully adorable. “We only have so much room in the lamp budget, you know.”
She picked her up in her arms, cradling her against her chest, when she heard Wyatt’s deep voice behind her. “Were they going at each other again?” he asked softly, leaning forward to nibble her neck.
“Ohhh,” she said in a breathy voice, immediately forgetting all about the fights that had been tearing up the house. “What are you…” She sucked in her breath as he sucked her skin into his mouth.
And promptly forgot what she was about to ask him. She couldn’t think at all when his mouth was doing that. Or that…
He gently pulled away and turned her in his arms, picking up Jasmine and setting her back down on the desk. He took her hand but instead of leading her to the bedroom, he led her down the stairs and out the front door.
“Where are we going?” she asked, confused. The lust had cleared away just enough for her to know that whatever he was doing, it wasn’t normal. She’d expected him to be gone all day; they were getting into harvest season, and he should be out riding a tractor in straight rows, or planning their strategy with Jorge, or working with Declan and Stetson to get the tractors and trucks to the right place at the right time, or…
He pulled her up to the top of a small hill that overlooked a ravine stretching into the distance. This was one of her favorite places to go as a child, and even now, the view took her breath away. They stopped under an old mulberry tree, the red fruit beginning to ripen in the summer heat. They paused for a minu
te, just looking at the view, and then he turned to her, a look she couldn’t read on his face. He took a deep breath
“Abigail Gwen Connelly,” he said, dropping to one knee in the cheat grass and dirt, “will you marry me?” He opened up a jewelry box to reveal a simple silver band in it – no stone, no glitter. He must’ve asked her father what jewelry could be worn while on duty.
It was…perfect.
“Oh Wyatt, yes!” she said, launching herself at him, and they rolled around in the cheat grass and dirt, laughing and kissing and she was getting poky shit in places she wouldn’t want to mention but she didn’t care because yes, she would marry Wyatt.
Suddenly, she stopped and pulled back and stared at him. “Are you sure?” she asked. “Really sure? You know I can’t have kids and I don’t…don’t want you to resent me.” Ever since that day that she’d been sent over to talk to him by her father, the topic of kids had lain between them, an unspoken topic of pain that she hadn’t wanted to breach. He’d said that he was fine without them, but she saw how he was out at Adam’s place. He was a natural with children. He deserved to be able to have them.
He deserved someone who wasn’t broken like her.
“There you go, ruining the other half of my surprise,” he said teasingly, giving her a peck on the cheek and scrambling to his feet and helping her up. “Here, look at these plans.” He picked up a long roll of white paper that’d been leaning against the mulberry tree trunk. She couldn’t believe she’d missed it; so much for her police training and paying attention to her surroundings. If it’d been a snake, it would’ve bit her.