by Nina Bruhns
The redhead grinned, spread her arms and launched herself at Luce. “I’m your cousin Lettie. Well, second cousin, really—”
But Luce didn’t catch the rest because suddenly the hall was filled with people of all sizes and descriptions, all descending on her. Hugging her and pumping her hand and saying how wonderful it was that she was finally home.
Home.
She laughed and cried and met everyone and tried to answer their thousands of questions as best she could, but the whole time all she could think was…
At long last, she was home. Really, really home.
Over all the heads of her new family, Philip towered, shaking hands and introducing himself, retelling the story over and over of how he had brought her back to them. Of course, she was sure he didn’t phrase it that way or take any of the credit. Even though she knew the truth. She was only here because of him.
There was no way on earth she could ever repay him for what he’d done for her. For making her face her demons and see the truth behind her restlessness. For pushing her to have the courage to meet this precious family who had accepted her so lovingly.
She would always love her mom and dad, the Montgomerys, and they would always be her true parents. But now she’d found the Santanders, too. Two families. What could be better than that?
She met Philip’s eyes across the room, and he gave her a wink. She smiled at him through the haze of her drying tears, and suddenly she knew. She just knew.
She had truly found what she’d been searching for.
There was no bottom to the depth of her feelings for this wonderful man who had saved her. She loved him more than anything on earth. She loved him, and she wanted him.
Forever.
Philip, her handsome, sexy, soft-spoken lawman, he was the real family she’d found. What she’d been seeking all along.
“I love you,” she mouthed over the heads.
She could see the surprise and disbelief in his eyes, then when he saw she truly meant it, his face lit up like a Christmas tree.
“I love you, too,” he mouthed back. And started for her. Through the throng of laughing, chatting Santanders he advanced slowly but surely.
She bit her lip, her eyes filling all over again.
Oh, God. He was coming for her.
As he wrestled through the last remaining people separating them, he held out his hand for her. She took it and pulled herself into his reaching arms.
“Oh, Philip,” she whispered, and his lips came down on hers. “I’m so happy.”
“Marry me,” he said, kissing her over and over. “Marry me, Constanza Jean Luz Hidalgo Santander Montgomery. I love you so much. Marry me and have my children.”
The whole family erupted in cheers of surprise, clapping and jumping up and down, calling loudly for her answer.
She kissed him back, laughing and crying with joy. “Yes! Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you, Philip O’Donnaugh. I love you, too, forever and ever.”
And as they were carried around the house on a tide of cheerful arms, glasses were fetched and corks popped, and she knew she’d never, ever been so happy.
Thanks to Philip, his breathless passion and his steadfast, undaunted love, she had well and truly reached the other side of the mountain.
And as far as the eye could see, it was all good.
Epilogue
Two Years Later
Luce O’Donnaugh lifted a beautiful handblown glass pitcher of homemade eggnog from the counter and poured its contents into matching green and red handblown glasses. Filled with the delicious scents of turkeys roasting, pies baking and corn roasting, along with the sounds of pans clanging, silverware clinking and mixers buzzing, Gramma Santander’s kitchen was humming with activity.
“Hey, Luce, hurry up with that eggnog!” someone shouted from the packed living room. “We need refills in here!”
The annual family Christmas party was in full swing, and the whole clan was in attendance, loud and boisterous and demanding as usual. But Luce loved every one of them and wouldn’t trade them for the world.
“Keep your pants on!” she shouted back. “I’m coming!” She finished pouring, and loaded the glasses on a tray, shooting a glance at the dark-haired toddler weaving between the legs of the women as they cooked and prepared. He was hanging on to skirts, accepting kisses and pats on the head and stealing any cookie or other morsel that happened to fall within reach.
“You going to behave yourself, sport?” she called to him.
His big blue eyes looked up at her and widened innocently. He was so cute, that look never failed to melt her heart completely. He nodded, stuffing a wreath-shaped cookie in his mouth.
“Mamama,” he said around it, finishing the job on her heart. He tipped precariously with the effort of standing, eating and talking at the same time. A hand reached out to steady him and he toddled off, oblivious to the near spill, no doubt in search of more goodies to plunder.
She exchanged a motherly grin with Lettie, the rescuer. “You go,” Lettie said. “We’ll make sure Petey doesn’t get into trouble.”
“Right.” That would be the day. Even at the tender age of fifteen months, Petey was the terror of the Santanders. A real chip off the old block, everyone said. Luce just couldn’t understand why everyone winked at Philip when they said it.
Grabbing the tray of eggnog, she hurried to the living room.
Christmas music was playing festively and like the rest of the house the living room was decorated to within an inch of its life with holly and juniper boughs and mistletoe. And of course Santas. Everywhere the laughing face of the big man in red smiled back at Luce.
“There you are!” one of her many new cousins shouted over the racket, helping her with the full glasses, which disappeared within seconds. But not before she managed to snag the last one for herself.
“Hey, no fair!” Anna Hidalgo declared, frowning at the empty tray.
Luce handed her the tray with a flourish. “Your turn,” she said with a grin.
Anna rolled her eyes good-naturedly and headed for the kitchen. “Sheesh,” she said. “Next year I’m hiring waiters.”
“Good idea!” Luce called after her.
She was happy Anna was fitting in so well here. After her father had been found guilty of three counts of murder and sent to prison with a lifetime sentence, she’d had a rough time of it. At Philip’s urging, Luce had reached out to her, adopting his philosophy of letting the past go and concentrating on the future. The board of directors at Hidalgo Industries had been more than surprised when Luce had signed over all her shares to Anna after the estate settlement, in effect forcing them to keep her on as CEO in Donald’s place. Luce had no desire to take what Anna had spent her life earning. She had more than enough success with her new P.I. business. Besides, she’d rather have her family. It had taken a while, but Anna had come around. Despite the difficulties, they’d become good friends. Once that happened, the rest of the Hidalgo family had also accepted her with open arms.
Taking a sip of her drink, she looked around the crowded room. Where was that husband of hers?
She wandered among the drifts of people chatting and munching on Christmas snacks, stopping to catch up with some of the folks she hadn’t seen since last year’s party.
“Darling! There you are!” Daphne Montgomery said, slipping an arm around her. “Your son is wreaking havoc in the kitchen,” she informed her with a smirk.
Luce sighed wryly. “It’s all Betsy’s fault. She lets him run wild through the Slipper when she baby-sits. He thinks he owns every kitchen on the planet.”
“Well,” her mother said straight-faced, “if you’re lucky he might learn to cook. Someone in the family should, you know.”
Luce made a face at her. “Philip and I are working on it. Together.”
“Sort of an encounter thing, eh?”
“Mom, this is New Mexico, not California.” Her mother was still getting used to the ways of the West. Quite a difference
from St. Louis. But Daphne was flourishing ever since since she and Luce’s dad had moved to a small adobe house outside of Taos. She’d even taken up weaving. Her dad, of course, loved the hunting. And he and Philip regularly took Petey out fishing.
“I imagine you’re finding all sorts of ingenious ways to use whipped cream in your cooking encounters,” Daphne suggested blandly. Her mom was so bad.
“Mom!”
“Did I hear something about whipped cream?” her dad asked, coming up and giving each of them a kiss on the cheek.
Luce groaned and bussed him back, then slipped away while Daphne had his attention. Definitely too much information.
She looked around again for Philip, who was nowhere to be found. Maybe he’d gone outside. Setting down her glass, she strolled over to the French doors overlooking the courtyard patio and checked there. It was deserted except for Ted and Betsy, who were sitting on a bench together holding hands. There would be wedding bells for those two soon, Luce thought with satisfaction. About time. Ten years was way too long to beat around the bush.
Craving the touch of her own husband, she made her way to the door leading to the far end of the long front foyer. Maybe he was out there. Sometimes the large gatherings got as overwhelming for him as they did for her. She peeked around the corner. And her heart swelled at what she saw.
In the middle of the foyer was Philip, dressed in a red plush suit with a pillow under his belt and a toddler perched on his shoulders. Love for the two flooded through her whole being.
Philip stood in front of the portrait of Grandpa Santa, holding Petey’s hands as he straddled his broad shoulders, talking softly to his son as they both looked up at the painting. Father and son looked so much alike her breath caught.
She stepped quietly out into the foyer, watching them as her heart slowly filled to overflowing.
Her men.
She must have made a sound, because as one, they turned to her, faces smiling, eyes sparkling with the light of love.
Tears crested her lashes at the sight.
Her family.
Petey let go and reached out for her, his little arms waving as they eluded Philip’s grasp. “Mamamama!” he shouted.
Philip swung him down onto one well-padded hip, opening the other arm to her as she went to him. She rushed into her husband’s loving embrace, hugging him with one arm and their baby boy with the other.
“I was looking everywhere. I thought I’d never find you.” She sighed, breathing in the enchanting blend of aftershave and baby powder that spiced the air around them. She’d never smelled anything more wonderful.
“I’m right here,” he assured her with a kiss. “I’ll always be right here.”
“I know,” she said, smiling up at him. And she did. He’d always be there for her and Petey, and their other children as the years went by. Of that, she had no doubt. He was her hero, her friend, her lover, her husband. “And I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7114-6
BLUE JEANS AND A BADGE
Copyright © 2005 by Nina Bruhns
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