“Chase!”
He didn’t say a word, not even her name. He just took her in his arms, and he kissed her, the way she had always dreamed of being kissed. She didn’t even think of resisting. It was something she had to do, like taking a breath of air after swimming a long time under water.
She put her arms up and ran her fingers through his hair. His lovely, golden hair.
Finally, he released her lips, though he still held her tightly against him.
“I have something to tell you, Josie,” he said. “And I don’t care how crazy it sounds, or how impossible it seems.”
“Neither do I,” she said with a shaky smile. “In fact, I have quite recently begun to believe in impossible things.”
“Then believe this. I love you. I tried to let you go. I know you have decisions to make, and problems to face. I’m asking you to face them with me.”
“But—”
He shook his head. “If you say one more word about how you can’t accept my charity, I’ll go mad. This isn’t about you needing me, Josie. This is about me needing you. The truth is that I cannot live without you.”
She hadn’t been about to say anything of the sort. The joy of being in his arms made thinking very difficult. She hadn’t been able to move past the one big obstacle, the same one that had been between them from the beginning.
“What about Susannah?”
His face sobered. “Unfortunately, she has decided she can’t marry me after all. She’s had a better offer.”
Josie laughed. “Now I know you’re lying. A better offer? There is no such thing.”
“For Susannah there is,” he said, his eyes sparkling. “She’s going to marry the man she’s loved since she was twelve years old. She’s going to marry Trent.”
“Trent? But everybody knows that Susannah…well, I don’t know how else to put it. Imogene told me that Susannah hates Trent!”
“That’s true, too,” he admitted. “It’s a very tangled relationship. But that’s what will make it fun.”
“Can you be sure, though, that she really wants this? Maybe she’s just trying to set you free. Maybe she suspected that something was going on between us. When she came to the house, after the dance—”
“She knew, of course. She understands me pretty well, and it’s hard to fool her. She knew I’d fallen in love with you. I’m sure that’s why she broke down and proposed to Trent.”
She searched his face, which was glowing in the golden light of the sinking sun. Behind him, the amaryllis were blazing, as if they were on fire.
“Are you okay with that? You don’t feel guilty about letting her down? You’re not worried that she might feel…abandoned?”
“Nope. I’ve just put her in the hands of a man who adores her. I’ve just given her a chance to get her life right. I don’t see how a best friend could possibly be asked to do more than that.”
He grinned. “Besides, if I try to change things now, Trent will never forgive me. He’s been waiting for this miracle for ten whole years.”
She didn’t know what to say. She hated to let herself believe it could be true. The idea that Susannah’s needs no longer took precedence over hers…
“I can’t believe it,” she said.
“It’s true, though. Trent may have been waiting for Susannah for ten years. But I’ve been waiting my whole life for you. Please say yes, Josie. Say you’ll come back to the Double C.”
“I don’t know.” She didn’t want to be sensible. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and drive off with him into the sunset. But she’d thrown caution to the winds once before, and look where that got her.
“I love you, Chase. I know that what I feel for you is real. But it’s not just about me. I need to think of the baby, and the future. I have to be so careful.”
He put his hand against her stomach. It was so warm and strong. She leaned into it instinctively. “When you first came to me, you thought I was your baby’s father. Help me to make that come true. Let me be there for both of you, as a husband and a daddy, starting today—and lasting the rest of our lives.”
“But—” she searched his face, looking for the truth “—are you really sure?”
“Absolutely.” He leaned in and kissed her once, lightly. “I love you, Josie.” He kissed her again. “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything or anyone in my life.”
The words went through her like a shimmer of sunlight. She smiled, and he kissed her yet again.
“More than your first wife, the legendary beauty?”
He laughed. “Yes, but that doesn’t prove anything. She was also a legendary witch.”
“More than all the pretty cowgirls I saw you dancing with at Susannah’s party?”
“More than all of them,” he said, kissing her more deeply this time. “And their sisters and cousins, too.”
“Hmm.” She wanted more kisses, so she had to think of more tests. “More than Big Muddies, and Imogene’s hash browns? More than your truck?”
“You are food and drink to me now,” he said, and proved it by nibbling softly on her lower lip. “And I’d drive the truck into Clayton Creek if you asked me to.”
“Ahh…” She tilted her head and smiled up at him. “More than Yipster, the world’s nicest dog?”
“Hey, that’s not fair!” He laughed out loud. “If you really want to test me, I know what we can do. Let’s buy a new puppy for the baby, and then, in ten or fifteen years, you can ask me again.”
Ten or fifteen years…
Well, it was a start.
She caught a glimpse of her mother on the back porch. She was wringing her hands, looking distressed. Then Josie saw why. Her stepfather was standing right behind her mother. His face was tight and disapproving.
“I have an even better test,” she whispered. “My stepfather is about three more kisses away from storming out here and asking you what your intentions are.”
Chase gave the porch a glance, then turned his gaze back to her. “My intentions are to marry you, and, if I can, to make ours the happiest family in Texas. He never loved you enough, Josie. But that’s all right, because I intend to love you too much.”
“You’re actually going to tell him that?”
“I can’t wait.” He lowered his lips to hers. “So let’s get him out here. Let’s get started on those three kisses, Josie. Let’s get started on forever.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-0596-7
TEXAS BABY
Copyright © 2007 by Kathleen O’Brien.
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