“And whose bright idea was that?” Tessa asked.
“Yours. Remind me to give you a big fat raise.”
“Duly noted,” her friend said. “You know, Jillian, we don’t have to fix it all right this minute. You should rest. You’ve been through a lot these past few days.”
“I’ve got employees, Tessa. And orders to fill. I have obligations.”
“I know, but I wasn’t talking about that.” Tessa gave her a pointed look. “I’m talking about your breakup with Jack.”
“What about it?”
Tessa took her hand. “Come with me.” When Jillian resisted, Tessa added, “Please.”
“Okay, but just for a minute.”
Tessa led her to the only room left unscathed, a little employee lounge off the front lobby. “Sit down. I’m making us tea.”
The sofa enveloped her as she planted her bottom down. She closed her eyes for a little while, glad Tessa convinced her to take a break. “I have to get back in there soon.”
“You can hire a crew to clean this up tomorrow,” Tessa said. “There’s nothing we can do right now.”
“I know. I hate that you’re right.”
Tessa shoved a cup of raspberry hibiscus tea in her hand. “Drink this.”
“You’re so bossy today.”
“I’m taking care of my friend.”
That was one of the reasons she loved Tessa so much. She was like a sister to her. Bossy, sweet, controlling, lovable, and most importantly her friend was in her corner at every turn.
“Sip your tea, Jillian, and tell me what happened with Jack.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes.”
Jillian took a gulp of tea before she began. She explained everything from the very beginning, sharing with her the entire truth about why they got married in the first place. She gave her the long version, purging herself, getting it off her chest, and finally being able to speak about it freely. By the time she was through, tears stung her eyes. Tessa simply took her hand and squeezed. She didn’t judge, that was another reason Jillian loved her so much.
“And the worst of it is I found out the adoption went through a short time before the wedding. Jack never told me. He didn’t trust me with that bit of good news. I had to learn about it by chance when Jack showed up at the hospital.”
“Did you ever ask him why he didn’t tell you?”
“No. I never had the chance. But I don’t know if I would have. Jack didn’t want anything to do with me after Beau got hurt.”
“He was scared,” Tessa said. “And you do know that men react differently to situations than we do. They don’t have a rule book.”
Jillian narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean?”
“It’s a nice way of saying they can all be jerks at times.”
She chuckled. “That’s true.”
She was beginning to feel better, much more like herself. Keeping secrets didn’t set well with her and a mountain of pressure had been released as she revealed the truth to Tessa.
Tessa took the cup out of her hand and looked her straight in the eyes. “You want to know what I think?”
“You’re going to tell me, whether I do or not.”
“True. Because you have to hear this. I think I know why Jack didn’t tell you about the adoption. I think he wanted to marry you. I think that he loves you something crazy and you love him, and you’re both being prideful and stubborn, and maybe you’ve both hurt each other in the past and you were both scared to share your feelings.”
“Jack didn’t want to marry me.”
“Maybe not in the beginning, Jillian. But I think he fell hard for you and he knew if he told you he was granted the adoption without having to marry you that you might’ve backed out. Think about it. It makes sense. And, honey, I saw the look in his eyes when you walked down the aisle in your pretty princess wedding dress. I heard those vows you spoke to each other. I saw how you two played off each together. The two of you are meant to be together. You owe it to yourself to find out, Jillian.”
“Even if I did believe you, I can’t do anything about it now. I need to get my company back on its feet.”
“A minor setback, Jillian. I’ve got this. I’ll take care of things from this end. You can trust me.”
“With my life.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do. Give you your life back.”
*
Monday night, Jack sat on Beau’s bed reading him a bedtime story about a little boy with a pet dinosaur. As soon as Beau’s eyes drifted closed, he bent over to kiss him on the forehead, tuck his blanket under his chin, and shut off his new football light. He tiptoed out of Beau’s room and came face to face with his father.
“You’re doing the right thing, son.”
Jack couldn’t agree more. “Beau knows you’ll be taking him to school in the morning. I should be back, one way or another in time to pick him up. If there’s any delay—”
“I know, I know. I’m on standby. I’ll be happy to pick up my grandson,” Monty said, pride beaming in his eyes. Adopting Beau made his father a grandpa and Monty loved his new role.
“I’d wish you luck, but you’ve already got it. Have a safe trip, son. Bring that girl back to us.”
“I’ll do my best, Dad. You sure, me surprising her is a good idea?”
“I’m sure. Women like to be swept off their feet.”
“I might have to do a lot of sweeping.”
His dad slapped him on the back. “You do what you have to and don’t take no for an answer.”
If only he was as sure as his father was that Jillian would give him another chance. If only he had his father’s confidence, but if Jack didn’t at least try to plead his case, he’d be sorry the rest of his life. He’d come to the conclusion that Jillian was worth more than his pride. She was worth everything.
Jack tossed his overnight bag into his SUV and revved up the engine.
“Here goes nothing,” he muttered as he made his way to the highway, heading toward the airport. He had no idea what he’d say to Jillian once he finally reached her. He wouldn’t rehearse anything. He’d been told to speak the truth, to speak from the heart. How had his dad become such an expert on relationships, anyway?
He was halfway to the airport, the radio blasting, his car pushing a tad over the speed limit to make his flight on time. And then he spotted something as he whizzed by.
A cherry red sports car parked along the side of the road.
“What the—” He slowed to a stop and, because the road was empty, put his car in reverse and backed all the way up. Taking a flashlight out of his glove compartment, Jack shined a light on the car. There was no mistaking it.
Jack got out of his car. With flashlight in hand, he gave the sports car a good checking over before setting his sights on the town’s most noteworthy attraction, Wishing Wells, not fifty feet away. His heart thumping, he approached and the sound of water lapping, brought fresh memories of the last time he’d been here. He hopped the fence easily, his inner lawman telling him to proceed with caution. But Jack wasn’t much listening to his inner lawman tonight.
“That better be you, Sheriff Walker.”
The sound of Jillian’s voice sent sweet chills through his body. “You expecting someone else?” God, that woman made him happy. Crazy, but happy.
“I don’t want anyone but you.”
That brought a smile to his face, even before he got a glimpse of her. Now that he was close, he beamed light on the Wells and saw her submerged in the warm waters, her blonde hair atop her head in some sort of wispy bun. “Trespassing again, Jillian?”
“Yeah, I was hoping to get arrested. By my husband.”
Jack drank in the sight of her. God, how he loved her. “Seriously, babe. What are you doing here? After what you’ve been through, you shouldn’t be alone, in the dark.”
“I knew you’d find me. I called the house and your dad told me you’d be passing by here.”
&nbs
p; “And you knew I’d stop?”
“You’re a lawman, nosy by nature.”
He moved in on her, shaking his head. “Why’d you come back?”
“Not for my company. Not for any other reason. But you.”
She met his eyes and he saw the truth there. The undeniable beautiful truth. And then he caught a flash of red. “What are you wearing under there?”
“Guess.”
“I have no clue.”
“Valentine Vamp.”
Ah, yeah. He remembered that sexy crimson thong that blew his mind when she’d shown up at his front door the first time. “Isn’t that how we got into all this trouble in the first place?”
“I was hoping to jar your memory. So why were you coming to L.A?”
Jack shook his head. “Uh-uh. I’m not talking until you come on out of there.”
“Why don’t you come in? The water’s nice and warm. And you can make a wish.”
“I’ve done my share of wishing, Jillian. Listen, I’ve got a lot to say to you, but first, give me your left hand.”
“Why? You going to cuff me?”
Jack grinned. “Something like that.”
Jillian stared at her left hand beginning to prune up and Jack took hold of it and slipped her wedding ring off her finger. “I should’ve never given you this,” he said, shaking his head. When he looked into Jillian’s eyes, they were tearing up. “Hold on, babe. That’s not what I meant.”
Quickly, he dipped into his pocket and pulled out his grandmother’s diamond ring. “This is the ring that belongs on your finger, Jillian. It’s a piece of my family, a piece of me, and now it belongs to you.” He held her hand reverently and gently guided the ring into position.
“Oh, Jack. You had me scared for a second.”
“I guess we’re good at scaring each other.”
She lifted her hand, admiring the ring that meant so much more than diamonds and gold. It meant forever. “It’s beautiful, Jack.”
“It’s important to me and it’s fitting you should wear it, Jillian.”
She gave him a dewy-eyed smile that warmed all the cold places in his heart. “Thank you.”
Jack stared at his stunning wife sitting comfortably in the waters. He could hardly believe he’d almost blown it with her. It seemed they needed two chances to find their happiness, but he was fearless now, knowing in his heart that this was the right choice for him, the only choice.
“If you’re not coming out, I’m coming in.” He unbuttoned his shirt, undid his belt buckle, kicked off his boots and jumped into the wells, splashing Jillian as he came up, shaking his head.
They laughed and he took her into his arms. “I’m crazy in love with you, Jillian. I want you back. As my real wife. I want you and me and Beau to be a family. And, before you say anything, I want to apologize for blaming you about the bicycle accident. It was wrong of me to condemn you that way. It wasn’t your fault. Accidents happen all the time, and sometimes there isn’t any way to prevent them. Can you forgive me?”
“Tessa said you were being a jerk.”
“Tessa?”
“Yes, but don’t hold it against her, she was defending you. She also convinced me to come back home. So yes, I forgive you. And Jack, I would die before letting anything happen to Beau.”
“You love him too?”
“I do. It’s not hard to love that sweet boy. I missed him. I missed you. And I’m proud to wear your grandmother’s ring. I’ll try to do it justice as your wife.”
Jack’s heart was ready to burst. But he had more to confess. “Jillian, I don’t have a good track record with women. My mom left when I was six years old and it broke my heart. I grew up without a mother. It hurt in ways I can’t begin to explain. That’s one reason adopting Beau was so important to me. I wanted that boy to have a good father, at least. Like I had. Then years later, Jolene left me to pursue her career. She wanted out of Hope Wells and as I look back at it, we were all wrong for each other. In the back of my mind, I thought you were going to leave me too, for bigger and better things. You’d done that once already.”
“Is that why you didn’t tell me about the adoption going through?”
He began nodding. “Yeah, if I’m being honest, I thought you’d leave before the wedding and not marry me, if you knew. I’d gotten the verbal okay from the judge and I was over the moon about it, but I ran scared and so I used waiting for the official paperwork to come through as an excuse to hold off telling you. And Beau. You’ve gotta know how protective I am of that boy.”
“I do know, Jack. So am I.”
He took her hand and squeezed. “I was falling hard for you and I didn’t want you to back out of our bargain. You see, the problem is, I couldn’t really admit that to myself until a few days ago.”
“What made you finally see?”
“Missing you, realizing you weren’t to blame for Beau’s accident. Realizing, we could never be a family without you.”
“Oh, Jack. I missed you too. So much. And I wouldn’t have backed out, I would’ve stayed, but after Beau got hurt, I realized I’d been nothing but a jinx to you. Because of me, you almost lost Beau when those racy headlines appeared in the newspaper. You were forced to marry me. And then you were jumped by those awful men, and—”
He touched his fingers to her lips. “Shush, that’s in the past now, sweetheart. And you aren’t a jinx. I never once thought of you that way. You are the love of my life and I pushed you away. I promise to never do that again. You mean everything to me and I was on my way to—”
“Bring me home?”
“Sweep you off your feet.”
Jillian smiled. “You have. You do.”
“I’m happy to hear it, sweetheart. I’m crazy about you.”
Jillian stared into his eyes. “I may have to commute from time to time until I can arrange to run things from Hope Wells.”
“That’s fine, sweetheart. We’ll deal with it together. Whatever it takes. You’ll always have my support.”
Jillian sighed, a beautiful hope-filled sound that told him it was all going to work out. They were meant to be together and no obstacle, whether big or small, could ever shatter the bonds of their love.
“I love you, lawman.”
“And I love you.”
Jack cupped her beautiful face in his hands and brought his lips to hers, sealing their future with a kiss that brought joy and hope and faith in the warm healing waters of Wishing Wells.
Where sometimes… wishes really do come true.
The End
You’ll love the next book in…
The Forever Texan Series
Book 1: Taming the Texas Cowboy
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Book 2: Loving the Texas Lawman
View the entire series here
Book 3: Redeeming the Texas Rancher
Coming soon
More by Charlene Sands
Claim Me, Cowboy
Copper Mountain Rodeo series
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Bachelor for Hire
Bachelor Auction Returns series
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About the Author
Charlene Sands is a USA Today Bestselling author writing sexy contemporary romances and stories set in the Old West. Her stories have been honored with the National Readers Choice Award, the Cataromance Reviewer’s Choice Award and she’s a double recipient of the Booksellers’ Best Award. She was recently honored with Romantic Times Magazine’s Best Harlequin Desire of 2014. Charlene is a member of the Orange County Chapter and Los Angeles Chapter of Romance Writers o
f America.
When not writing, she enjoys great coffee, spending time with her four “princesses”, bowling in a woman’s league, country music, reading books from her favorite authors and going on movie dates with her “hero” husband.
Sign up for her newsletter at www.charlenesands.com for new releases and special member giveaways. Charlene loves hearing from her readers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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