But she was still worried she wasn’t going to like what was coming.
“We’re in my truck instead of the general store because I wanted to keep this private, at least for the first five minutes,” he qualified, his lips quirking in a half smile. “And I wanted to do this now because, despite all my good reasons to the contrary, I don’t want to wait any longer.”
He was pausing again, she thought, thoroughly frustrated and fighting the urge to go running down his throat in order to pull the words out.
“Wait any longer for what, Connor?” she said, fisting her hands in her lap.
Rather than answer her, Connor leaned slightly over to one side so he could dig something out of his front pocket. Something he’d been carrying around since they’d left the ranch this morning.
“Connor, what is it?” she demanded, feeling more tightly wound up than a spring that was about to go shooting off at the smallest touch.
Before answering Amy, Connor drew his hand out of his pocket and opened it. His fingers had been closed around a small, lovingly polished diamond ring.
“This was my mother’s. My dad gave it to her the night he proposed to her. He’d saved up for a whole year to buy it,” Connor explained, adding, “I know that they’d both want you to have this.” He took a breath, trying to steady his nerves. “Amy Donavan, I’ve been in love with you for a very long, long time. Will you marry me?” he asked, his voice deliberately low to keep it from cracking. “I know this is sudden and you don’t have to give me your answer right away—”
He’d barely finished his sentence before she’d grabbed the heart-shaped engagement ring and slipped it on her trembling finger.
It fit.
She felt that was a good omen.
Throwing her arms around Connor’s neck, she cried, “Yes!” just before she sealed her mouth to his, kissing him with all the emotion that had suddenly welled up within her.
When she finally drew her lips away, although her arms remained around his neck, he looked at her, equally stunned and pleased at the same time.
“Are you sure?” he asked, not wanting her to get carried away because of what had happened earlier.
“I could kiss you again to show you how sure I am,” she offered.
“I’d like that,” he said.
The smile on her lips began in her eyes, lighting all of her up.
“Yeah, me, too,” she told him right before she went on to show him just how much.
Epilogue
It was Christmas Day and the entire family was gathered at the house, the way they always were to celebrate the holiday.
Because of all the noise, Amy, who had Jamie on her lap, shook her head and pointed to her ear, indicating that she hadn’t heard what he’d just said.
Moving closer, Connor sat down on the sofa next to her, leaned in and whispered the words into her ear. “You’re beaming, you know.”
Her eyes instantly crinkled at the corners as she smiled at him. “I know. I can’t help it. This is the most wonderful Christmas I’ve had in a very long time. Maybe ever,” she said.
“But you’ve been awake since the crack of dawn and you worked nonstop all morning and half the afternoon,” he pointed out as he slipped his arm around her and drew her closer to him.
“That’s part of what makes all this wonderful,” she answered. Right now, she felt so happy, she thought she was going to burst. “I was helping get everything ready. Rita even let me help her cook dinner.” Which, in her eyes, was a big deal. “Besides—” she put her hand on his chest, loving the way she could feel his heart beat beneath her palm “—I didn’t get started working until almost eight.”
His smile was for her alone, despite the fact that the rest of his family was there with them in the living room, enjoying the gifts that had been exchanged and opened, but most of all, just enjoying being together as a family.
“I thought maybe you’d enjoy starting a new Christmas tradition,” Connor told her with a sexy wink, referring to the way they had started the morning.
“Oh, was that what that was?” she asked, amusement curving her mouth as she recalled their lovemaking.
“Uh-huh.”
“Hey, you two, save that for later,” Cody called out, sitting on the floor next to the Christmas tree as he played with his daughter. “This is a G-rated family gathering.”
“Said the old married man,” Connor teased.
“Hold it down, people. It’s so noisy in here, I can’t even hear myself think,” Cole told the others, raising his voice.
“You? I didn’t know you could think,” Connor shot back.
“Just for that, I’ll tell him I couldn’t find you,” Cole replied, pretending to turn away.
That got Connor’s attention and he got up off the sofa, approaching his brother. “Tell who you couldn’t find me?”
In response, Cole held up the receiver to the landline that Connor continued to maintain. His grandfather had been the first to have it installed and Connor was rather sentimental about keeping the old landline even though they all owned cell phones now.
He crossed over to Cole. “Who’s on the line?” he asked.
“Why don’t you find out for yourself?” Cole suggested, holding the receiver out to him. The grin on his face was wide enough to make the Cheshire cat envious.
Taking the phone out of Cole’s hand, Connor said, “Hello, this is Connor McCullough.”
“Connor, this is Cash Taylor. I didn’t want to bother you in case you were just about to start having dinner with your family.”
“No, we’re all done. We get started early around here because of the kids’ bedtimes,” Connor explained. “So, what’s up?”
Curious and concerned that it might be bad news because of the timing of the call, Amy had crossed over to offer Connor her silent support if he needed it.
“I thought you’d want to hear this right away. It seems that confrontation in the middle of the town square left Clay Patton with a bad taste in his mouth. One he wanted to get rid of and forget as fast as possible.”
“Hey, hold it down, everyone,” Cassidy ordered as the noise in the room began to increase again. She’d been watching the expression on her brother’s face. “Connor needs to hear this.”
“Cash, what are you saying?” Connor asked the man on the other end of the line, trying not to let his imagination run away with him.
“Patton stormed into my house a few minutes ago. Seems the man doesn’t realize it’s Christmas. Anyway, he slapped the divorce papers into my hand, then stomped out,” Cash told him.
“Were they signed?” Connor asked, afraid to take anything for granted.
“They were signed,” Cash answered. “Merry Christmas, Connor.”
“And the same to you, Cash,” Connor replied, feeling a little dazed as he hung up the phone.
Amy handed Jamie over to Cassidy and went up to Connor. “Well?” she cried, anxiously hoping that Connor would say the words she was praying to hear.
He turned from the wall phone and then caught her up in his arms and spun her around.
“You are officially a free woman, Amy Donavan,” he told her. Setting her down again, Connor said, “We can get married now.”
Stunned, thrilled, Amy did her best to try to put on a serious face as she said, “Well, I don’t want to rush into anything.”
“What?” He didn’t know if she was serious or pulling his leg.
“Oh, come here, you idiot,” she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. “I told you this was the best Christmas ever!”
“And the best,” he promised her just before he kissed her, “is yet to be.”
“I am going to hold you to that, Connor McCullough,” she told him breathlessly.
His smile
scrambled her pulse as he said, “I’m counting on it.”
As he brought his mouth down to hers, he heard the rest of his family, even Rita, applauding them and cheering.
And no one was cheering more than he was... He was just doing it internally.
* * * * *
Catch up with all of the McCullough siblings
in Marie Ferrarella’s most recent
FOREVER, TEXAS books:
TWINS ON THE DOORSTEP
(Cole and Stacy’s story)
THE RANCHER AND THE BABY
(Cassidy and Will’s story)
THE COWBOY AND THE BABY
(Cody and Devon’s story)
Available now wherever
Harlequin Western Romance books
and ebooks are sold!
And for even more Christmas cheer from Marie Ferrarella, check out CHRISTMASTIME COURTSHIP
Available now from Harlequin Special Edition!
Keep reading for an excerpt from TEXAS REBELS: ELIAS by Linda Warren.
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Texas Rebels: Elias
by Linda Warren
Prologue
My name is Kate Rebel. I married John Rebel when I was eighteen years old and then bore him seven sons. We worked the family ranch, which John later inherited. We put everything we had into buying more land so our sons would have a legacy. We didn’t have much, but we had love.
The McCray Ranch borders Rebel Ranch on the east and the McCrays have forever been a thorn in my family’s side. They’ve cut our fences, dammed up creeks to limit our water supply, and shot one of our prize bulls. Ezra McCray threatened to shoot our sons if he caught them jumping his fences again. We tried to keep our boys away, but they are boys—young and wild.
One day Jude and Phoenix, two of our youngest, were out riding together. When John heard shots, he immediately went to find his boys. They lay on the ground, blood oozing from their heads. Ezra McCray was astride a horse twenty yards away with a rifle in his hand. John drew his gun and fired, killing Ezra instantly. Both boys survived with only minor wounds. Since my husband was protecting his children, he didn’t spend even one night in jail. This escalated the feud that still goes on today.
The man I knew as my husband died that day. He couldn’t live with what he’d done, and started to drink heavily. I had to take over the ranch and the raising of our boys. John died ten years later. We’ve all been affected by the tragedy, especially my sons.
They are grown men now and deal in different ways with the pain of losing their father. One day I pray my boys will be able to put this behind them and live healthy, normal lives with women who will love them the way I loved their father.
Chapter One
Elias: the fourth son—the fighter.
The cowboy’s last fight.
If hell froze over, Elias Rebel would be standing right there enjoying the cool breeze. Just about every woman in Horseshoe, Texas, over the age of eighteen and under the age of forty, had said those words to him at one time or another.
Work. Beer. Women. That defined Elias. A lot of people said he was different than his brothers. But he didn’t care what people thought. He was who he was, doing things his way and on his terms.
After a full day of work, Elias was dog tired and headed for Rowdy’s beer joint, his favorite place to unwind. He sat at a table with his booted feet propped on a chair, a cold Bud Light in his hand. With anticipation, he contemplated the bleached blonde in a corner booth. Tight skinny jeans clung to her rounded hips and long legs. A low-cut knit top hugged her breasts and he could see cleavage all the way to Dallas. Yep. Just his type.
There was just one small problem: the Dwayne Johnson–type guy sitting across from her. In jeans, boots, a leather vest and a T-shirt with a pack of cigarettes rolled up in a sleeve, the biker dude had tattoos running up his arms that made his bulging muscles more pronounced. With one blow the guy could probably kill him.
There was nothing Elias liked more than a good fight, especially if the prize was the blonde. But sometimes common sense prevailed, even with Elias.
She glanced his way and smiled. He lifted his beer in response. Things were looking up.
Just then the front door opened and the six o’clock June sunlight bolted into the dark bar like a flash of lightning. It was blinding. Elias blinked and turned his head toward the door. The woman silhouetted there had strawberry blonde hair and he would have known her anywhere. She sashayed her pretty butt to the bar to talk to Bob, the owner of Rowdy’s.
Forgetting the blonde, Elias got to his feet and made his way over to her. “Well, well, if it isn’t the long-lost Maribel McCray.”
“Go away, Elias,” she replied without even looking at him, the way she used to do in high school.
“Oh, she remembers my name and even my voice.”
“Go away, Elias,” she said again, still not looking at him. Her full attention was on Bob.
“Are you sure you haven’t seen him?” she asked Bob.
“No, Maribel. Young boys don’t come in here.”
Digging in the big purse slung over her shoulder, she pulled out a pen. She reached for a napkin and wrote on it, and then pushed it toward Bob. “That’s my number. Please call if you see him.”
“Sure thing, Maribel.” Bob eased the napkin toward himself. “It’s nice to have you back in Horseshoe.”
She turned and walked out without another word. If there was a sexier woman, Elias hadn’t met her. In school, with thick hair hanging down to her hips and a figure that was made for a young boy’s dreams, she had personified hotness. She hadn’t changed, except her hair was shorter and in a ponytail.
“What did she want?” Elias asked.
“She’s looking for her son.”
Elias rested his forearms on the bar, twirling his can of beer. “She has a son. She must’ve gotten married. Wonder where she’s been all these years.”
“I didn’t ask, Elias.”
In high school, Elias had had a big crush on Maribel, but she hadn’t given him the time of day, which was just as well since she was a McCray and he was a Rebel. There was something about attraction, though, that transcended family feuds.
She’d left school mysteriously in April before graduation and everyone had wondered what had happened to her. The rumor was she had gotten pregnant and her dad, Ira McCray, had kicked her out of the
house. The other rumor was she’d run off to get married. The rumor mill in Horseshoe was alive and buzzing like bees around a honeypot. A lot of people had felt its sting. Even though Elias didn’t listen to rumors, he knew certain women thrived on them. That’s the way it was in a small town. But soon everyone had forgotten about Maribel McCray. What was she doing back in town?
Then it hit him. Elias’s brother Phoenix had married Rosemary McCray and Rosemary, or Rosie as everyone called her, was having a difficult pregnancy. She was confined to bed until the birth in late August. Maribel must’ve come home to help her sister. Funny, his brother had never mentioned it.
“Why are you so curious?” Bob asked, wiping a spot on the bar. Bob was a former marine, built solid and stout. Over six feet with a growl in his voice, not many patrons dared to question him when they were asked to leave, unless they were drunk as a skunk. “Since Phoenix and Paxton married McCrays, it’s been peaceful here in Horseshoe. I, for one, would like it to stay that way.”
Bob was right. The McCray women had infiltrated the Rebel family and everything was going smoothly. Elias hoped, like everyone in Horseshoe, that the feud was dying. A lot of bitterness and resentment still lingered on the McCray side. His father had shot Ezra McCray years ago in self-defense, and the McCrays had held on to revenge like the devil holds on to a sinner. Time was passing, though, and maybe old wounds were healing.
Bob placed his hands on the bar. “What are you doing in here so early?”
Elias took a swig from the can. “I’ve been up since four getting hay off the field. I came here to relax. Besides, it’s like a nursery at the ranch. Babies and pregnant women everywhere.”
“You’re the lone bachelor, Elias. When are you going to change that?”
Elias chuckled. “Never. I like my freedom.”
“Did I tell you Tammy Jo’s getting married?”
Elias looked at his beer and not at Bob. Tammy Jo was Bob’s only child and she and Elias had been an item for a couple of years, seeing each other when she’d come home from Austin. Bob had never found out. Tammy Jo had wanted to get married and Elias hadn’t, so their fun weekends had stopped. Part of him would miss Tammy Jo and the good times they’d had. But deep down he had known he wasn’t the man for her. He wasn’t sure if he was the man for any woman. Like he’d told Bob, he enjoyed his freedom and didn’t want to be tied down.
A Baby for Christmas Page 17