No Direction Home (Sweet Home Colorado)
Page 23
“Okay, thanks for listening. I feel better after talking with you.”
“You’re welcome. You know I’m always here for you.” She grinned.
Grace continued down the trail. In her mind she wanted to think Cindy was right. That she and Seth belonged together. Were they meant to be? Was Seth the one for her?
***
Guests streamed into the new home on the ridge and Nana and the children had arrived in full wedding attire. Seth stood in the entryway watching the horizon. When Cindy gave the signal with her hand mirror, he would ride up to meet them. Not a sign of them yet.
His mother lightly touched his arm. “Son, is it about time?”
“Won’t be long now. I’m glad you’re here," he said and put his arm around her.
"We're glad, too. We wouldn't want to miss this. Does Grace suspect anything?"
"Grace thinks everyone is coming in tomorrow. I hope she isn’t too upset with me for doing things this way.”
“I think it’s romantic. Any woman would be thrilled you had gone to this much trouble to please her. I’m proud of you and how you’ve made a home for yourself here. These are wonderful people. I’m happy you let us be a part of your big day.”
“That’s how I wanted it. My family and hers, the children, all of us together to see us speak our vows. It’s a special day.”
“What’s that flashing on the horizon?” She pointed toward the reflection on the hillside.
“The signal. He hugged his mother and hurried out the door toward Grace. He would soon know if she would say yes to be his wife for real. No more fake marriage. With his heart pounding double-time in his ears, he jumped on his horse and raced up the side of the mountain to meet them at the bend. His future was at stake.
***
“Why are you primping out here in the middle of nowhere?” Grace asked as Cindy waved her hand mirror around like a nut.
“I always like to look good. It’s the hairdresser in me.”
“What's going on down there? Oh, my goodness, someone has built a house on ranch land. When did that happen?” Grace noticed the gazebo sitting on the spot where she and Seth had parked a long time ago. Had Seth sold the land without telling her? Who would build a home way out here?
“It sure looks nice from here, Cindy said in a nonchalant manner that sounded anything but.”
“Those cars look familiar. Nana’s car is down there. What is going on? Who built that house? You know something.”
Cindy avoided Grace's gaze. "I don't know anything," she said. “Let’s start down and see what we can find out.”
Grace took off in a full gallop. “Grace, wait, you’ll hurt the baby,” Cindy screamed.
Grace immediately slowed down and shouted back at Cindy, “Come on, I want to find out what’s going on. I hate to be kept in the dark.” Grace rounded the bend and there was Seth racing across the meadow toward her. “What is he doing here?”
Cindy reined her horse in beside Grace. “Looks like he wants to talk to you. I think you both have to be honest with each other. It’s the only way you’ll have peace of mind and with the baby you need that. Do it. Do it now.”
“You’re right. I bet he knows what’s going on down there.”
“I’m sure Seth has the answers.” Cindy grinned. “Just ask.”
Grace watched Cindy ride down the trail toward the new house. What was going on here? She couldn’t figure it out. Mixed up and confused, she watched Seth ride up to her.
“Afternoon, ma’am, are you having a pleasant ride?” His eyes seemed to burn holes in her skin.
“Yes, I was—until I saw someone had built a house on ranch land. Do you know anything about it?”
“Come, let’s sit a spell.” He led her over to a grassy flat spot in the meadow and dismounted, helping her off the horse.
Why didn't he answer her questions? He knows something. She watched him with apprehension. Was he going to ask her for a divorce, here, in the meadow? That way she could scream and yell and no one would hear her. Well, if that was the case she wouldn’t make a sound...no matter how much it hurt.
“I’ve been wanting to speak to you about our future and with my crazy hours lately, just haven’t had the opportunity.” He pulled a blanket off the saddle and spread it on the tall grass in the meadow. Sitting, he pulled her down next to him.
Yeah, right. She supposed the nights when they were alone didn’t give him a chance to talk. Men were all alike. Working things to their needs, never taking into consideration what a woman was thinking, feeling, or needing. Well, here it comes—for better or worse.
“Grace.” Gazing into her eyes, he took her hand in his. “I know I’ve been distant lately, but I have a good reason.” He hesitated. “I love you.”
Did she hear him right? I think he said I love you. “What?” Could it be possible? She hoped so with all her heart.
“I love you. I’ve known it since the first day I saw you kicking that flat tire in the rain.” He grinned, his sexy cowboy grin, making Grace’s heart skip a beat. “With what you told me about your past I thought you needed time to find yourself.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve given you time. With an inheritance from my grandfather, I’ve bought the ranch next door along with the edge of the Cactus Rose Ranch and built a new home for our family. That’s Rosewood, our home. Down in the valley.” He gestured at the log home sitting on the next high ridge. "You can see Jamie and Joey running around the yard playing. I want us to raise our family there, if you’ll have me.”
Grace was floored. This was not what she had expected to hear. “You...you love me?” She was stunned.
“Yes, everything about you. The way you sleep. That cute little snore, your smile, your laugh, the way you interact with the children. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
“Marry you?” Was the man nuts? They were already married. And she was going to have his baby.
“Yes, I want us to renew our vows right down there in the gazebo in front of both our families and friends. The last time you were forced into it. This time I want the world to know I love you and you love me. Everyone is down there waiting for us. Will you marry me?”
“Seth, there are things you need to know about me. You know the problems with my health....
He put his fingers to her lips, silencing her. “I know everything that matters. The house has been built with special needs in mind, wide doorways and all that, complete with a greenhouse for you to grow your flowers in. We’ll face what comes together, as a family.” With a loving expression in his eyes he said, “I love you for what’s in your heart, not what you can do for me. We’ll deal with your health issues as they come. I want to love you and take care of you for the rest of our lives. I want us to grow old together.”
She broke down in tears and leaned against his chest. This wonderful man did love her. He had built a home for her. Cindy was right. Cindy? She knew about this and didn’t tell her. “What does Cindy have to do with this?” she asked as she clung to Seth.
“She loves you, too. She and Jenna took care of the details of getting ready for a second wedding. They have your dress and everything ready for you...if you say yes. My parents, Nana, the kids and our friends are there. Everyone is waiting for us. All we have to do is go down there and get all dressed up and say our vows." He laughed. "It’s my dream to marry you at sunset with the sun glistening off the far peaks. We’ll ride into the sunset together...forever."
The last trace of her resistance vanished with his last words. He loved her. He really cared. She had been such a fool thinking all those negative things. This afternoon there were no shadows across her heart. She had finally been able to put the hurts of the past behind her. But as Cindy had said, they needed to be completely honest. She had to tell him everything. “Seth, there’s something else I have to tell you. I found out last week and didn’t know how to tell you.” She placed his hand on her stomach, not knowing how he would react to this last bi
t of information.
“You can tell me anything. Whatever it is, we’ll work our way through it as a family.”She looked him in the eyes and swallowed hard. “We’re going to have a baby.”
“How? When?” Smiling her favorite cowboy grin, he grabbed her in his arms and kissed her to the depths of her soul. “That’s the best news anyone ever gave me,” he whispered in her ear. “Now, once and for all. Will you marry me?”
Her heart sang with delight. She was blissfully happy, fully alive in his arms. Then she remembered seeing him at the lawyer’s office. “Tell me one thing, first.”
“What’s that?” He leaned away from her, wondering what else she had on her mind.
“What were you doing at the lawyer’s office yesterday?” His answer would help her make the decision whether to marry him or not.
“What were you doing?” His eyebrows raised in a slight frown. "Spying on me?"
“No—I had some other news to tell you and I went looking for you and saw you there.
“What other news?”
She grinned. “I sold my book.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m proud of you.” He kissed her soundly on the mouth. “I always knew you could do it. I told you so.” He laughed. “Well, to answer your question I was at the lawyer’s office to draw up papers to give my half of the ranch back to Nana today at the wedding.” He cleared his throat. “That is, if there Is a wedding. Will you marry me?”
He was her knight in a Stetson. He had slayed her dragons. “Yes, yes, yes. I love you. I’ll marry you.” Sealing the bargain with a kiss, Grace realized she had come the long way home to the ranch to heal and had found life, love and a second chance at happiness with Seth. He was the man who could satisfy her soul—her true soul mate.
The End
Note to my readers:
Just saying: Hello to my Sweet Home Colorado readers and fans. I hope you have enjoyed No Direction Home, Book One in the series.
And please share your love for No Direction Home, from my Sweet Home Colorado series! Word–of-mouth is vital for an author to succeed. If you enjoyed the book, please leave a review at www.Amazon.com even if it’s a sentence or two. That’s how other readers find my books! Your reviews make a ton of difference and are so appreciated.
For an update on the next book in my Sweet Home Colorado series and to be the first to hear about all of my Colorado quirky, fun books, please take the time to sign up for my newsletter at www.judewillhoff.com (Note: Your email will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at anytime.)
Also, I wanted to add that like Grace in No Direction Home, there are a lot of people living in the world who have to deal with chronic pain on a daily basis. I am one of them and you may have chronic pain or know someone who does. Having chronic pain is forever. It never goes away. I have written the nonfiction book, Living Well With Chronic Pain as a way to help people suffering with this condition.
Because life won’t wait, instead of pain controlling you, learn how to control it with lifestyle changes and the use of Medtronic Advanced Pain Therapies. Chronic pain disables more people than cancer or heart disease. More than eighty-six million patients have been diagnosed. One out of three have this condition. Living Well With Chronic Pain takes a no-nonsense approach that can be understood by chronic pain patients, families, friends and professionals alike. It is a practical guide describing lifestyle changes others can learn and us to take control of the pain.
“Chronic pain can cause patients to alienate those around them and often leads to drug addiction, irritability and depression. This book is a must have for patients who suffer with chronic pain. It could save your life.”
~ Dr. Michael W. Brown, Neurosurgeon
If you are a chronic pain patient you are not alone. We’re all in this together. Bless you on your journey.
~ Jude Willhoff
Save an Author – Buy a Book
You may purchase Living Well With Chronic Pain, Fly Away Home, Book Two and Home Sweet Home, Book Three of the Sweet Home Colorado series at www.Amazon.com or at www.judewillhoff.com
Thank you!
Also, feel free to email me at jude2@prodigy.net I always answer each and every email—unless you’re spamming me (lol!).
You can connect and hang with me in and on the following places:
Website: http://www.judewillhoff.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/judewillhoff
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JudeWillhoff@JudeWillhoff
About The Author
Jude Willhoff is a bestselling and award-winning author in both romance and nonfiction genres. No Direction Home was written as a book of her heart because she has Aracknoiditis and a spinal cord implant and lives with chronic pain. She wants to help people living with this disease by letting them know that with pain management they can live well with their ongoing situation. This book, No Direction Home is dedicated to those suffering with Aracknoiditis and chronic pain.
Jude is an avid reader and a believer in all things romance. By day, she works alongside her husband with their real estate investments. “Though I could always use more time to write, the hours spent working with real estate are never dull and are a constant source of ideas for plots and characters.” By night, she writes her contemporary romance and nonfiction books.
To celebrate Jude’s official launch of the Sweet Home Colorado series she has happily included the first chapter of Book Two, Fly Away Home, Cindy Dawson’s story for your enjoyment.
~Sweet Home Colorado Book Two ~
Fly Away Home
Chapter One
"Great buns. Muscular thighs...mum Baby, come to Mama."
The dusky light of evening played along the Denver skyline, but Cindy Dawson could see enough of the nearly naked jogger to cause heart palpitations. The tight, skimpy shorts covering his backside brought a whistle to her lips. For a split second, her eyes wandered from the road as she reached for her ringing cell phone. She glanced back to see the flash of red tail lights.
"Oh, God."
She swerved and stomped the brakes to the floor.
The sound of crunching metal and breaking glass drowned out her scream as the air bag exploded. Slamming into something solid, everything came to a halt. The noise of the accident reverberated into a million tiny white shooting stars pulsating in her head. A shiver of panic forced her brain to function. Over the deflating air bag the front of her red Jeep Cherokee curled around the back of a police cruiser. The clanking of the engine stopped as a last shuddering breath of white smoke puffed from the motor spraying water everywhere. "I'm so sorry, Matilda," she murmured and patted her dashboard with an unsteady hand.
The sound of a distant siren pierced the silence. Her face tingled from the impact, but nothing seemed to be broken. In the glow of the early evening streetlight, her head tipped toward the jogger racing up to the passenger’s side of the car. Looking old and tired, he didn't seem to be as cute close up and personal. And to think she had whistled at this guy. Clearing vision brought a disturbing thought to the surface. Leopard print Speedos on a pot belly old bald man—didn't do a thing for her.
Someone called from the driver's side of her car. "Hey, are you all right?"
More shaken than she cared to admit she glanced toward the voice. "Yes, I'm okay." A wave of apprehension swept away the brief calm as she wished to be anywhere else. A tall man stood outside the broken window. The sleeves of his shirt were tight against his swelling biceps. A thick shock of dark, wavy hair fell in careless disarray over his forehead. Blazing from a handsome face were his eyes—dark brown like melted chocolate. Their glint mirrored the shiny badge on his chest. He looked pissed. Great...just great.
"Are you hurt?" he asked and quirked a brow.
She blinked and met his eyes without flinching. "No, I...I think I'm okay." Guilt nearly caused the words to lodge in her throat. The smarting on her face from where she'd been smacked by the airbag was minor compared to what this man could do.
She brushed a long strand of dark hair behind an ear and focused on him. Noting the name on his badge, J. Riley, she said, "I'm so sorry Officer Riley. I only glanced away for a second and when I looked up there you were." She cringed at the strained expression on his face. "I tried to stop."
"I'm sure you did." He lifted the radio unit from his shoulder and growled into it, then turned back. "I'm Officer Jack Riley. I'll get you out." He worked on the jammed car door. "The paramedics will be here in a few minutes." Reaching through the window he pressed a handkerchief to a small scratch on her brow. "Keep pressure on it."
She hadn't been aware she was bleeding. "Thanks, but I don't need them." He pushed the deflated air bag back and tugged the door open. She rubbed her face, stepped out of the wrecked auto and stood on jelly legs surveying the damage. Broken glass and pieces of twisted metal littered the roadway. The front of Matilda hugged the patrol car. "I...I have insurance."
"Well, ma'am, that's a good thing. Now, please go sit on that park bench." He pointed to a spot near the street. "I have to direct traffic around the accident."
"Okay."
A slight grin crossed his face as he looked at his car and shook his head. Another police car pulled up with its lights flashing. Jack spoke to the policeman and came to stand by her. Just then an ambulance drove up with a tow truck close behind.
"I don't need an ambulance." She tried to object.