by Soraya Lane
Mia’s eyes stung, tears escaping and starting to slowly slip down her lashes onto her cheeks. I miss you, too, she thought, clutching the invitation, her fingers tight around the card. After everything, she still missed him, and as much as she wanted to stay away, to protect herself from being hurt again, she knew the pull to go and see him would be too great to resist.
Mia finally put it down and decided to go take a shower. She needed time to think. She’d jumped to conclusions were Sam was concerned, hated him for something he hadn’t done, but the only thing she truly regretted was not hearing him out the day he’d come to see her.
Mia turned the faucet on and started to strip, dumping her clothes in a pile on the tiled floor and stepping into the shower. As she let the water run over her, she shut her eyes and saw Sam. Not the Sam with the cold eyes telling her he didn’t have feelings for her, but the Sam who’d stroked her back and smiled down at her in bed, the Sam who’d held her hair back when she was sick, the Sam who’d kissed her so tenderly she’d wondered if it was possible to melt in his arms.
And if there was even a possibility of having that Sam back? Then she’d be stupid not to go and see that for herself, no matter how much the thought terrified her.
Chapter 23
SAM stared into the crowd, hoping to see Mia, but it was the third time he’d looked for her since coming out and he hadn’t caught sight of her yet. He talked to the crowd, laughed and asked them questions. He even called a spectator from the crowd and let him assist, enjoying his work the most when he was showing and doing rather than just talking, letting him work with the horse alongside. But eventually he was given the signal that it was time to wrap the show up, and he’d become so involved he’d almost forgotten what he wanted to do.
The camera had been panning across the audience, but when it came back to rest on him, Sam cleared his throat and asked for silence.
“As many of you know, this is my last scheduled show of the year,” he said, smiling when everyone clapped. “It’s been an absolute honor to meet so many horsemen and women on this tour, and without the support of you all, I wouldn’t be standing here tonight. It’s been a pleasure sharing my horse training skills with you, and I truly want to thank everyone who’s attended an event, bought a book and visited my website.”
He waited until everyone was silent, clearing his throat again, feeling a weight on his chest that he thought might be anxiety, even though he’d never experienced anything like it before.
“I invited a very special woman here tonight, although I don’t believe she decided to come,” he continued. “This woman not only gave me the opportunity to work one of the most difficult horses I’ve been privileged enough to work with, but she made me realize how important it is, for horses and humans, to move on from the pain we’ve experienced in the past and start afresh.”
There was a murmuring, a low level noise in the crowd, and Sam strained his eyes to see what was going on. He was about to continue, until he saw what the commotion was about.
Mia was standing there, her hair soft and windswept around her shoulders, wearing a pretty sundress and cowboy boots, and looking as uncertain as a brand new foal about to test out their legs for the first time.
“Mia?” he asked, forgetting he was on microphone.
She walked slowly towards him and he faltered before quickly moving to her, closing the distance between them. He took her hands, reaching out for her, but his boots scuffed to a halt in the dirt. She was … Sam looked from her face to her stomach, the tight waist of the dress making her look bigger, as if she’d put on weight but just in her …
Holy shit.
“You’re?” he questioned not even able to get the words out.
“Yeah I am, Daddy,” she murmured.
Sam couldn’t think of a time he’d ever cried in public, and definitely not with every eye from a crowd trained on him, but when Mia’s shy, sweet gaze met his, her lips tipping up into the slightest smile he’d ever seen, his eyes filled with tears that were almost impossible to contain. His throat caught when he tried to speak, the words there but not coming out.
“Mia,” he said finally, “I don’t deserve a second chance, hell, I don’t think I deserve any kind of chance, but you once asked me how I felt about you, and I lied. I let my past stop me from, well, treating you right, and just like that horse that everyone thought was a son-of-a-bitch, I was too hurt from the past to move forward.”
Her cheeks were flushed, and he couldn’t stop glancing down at her stomach, but he forced himself to continue.
“I love you, Mia. I think I have from the moment you put me in my place and showed me you weren’t afraid to stand up for what you believed in,” he said. “I also know that I’ll never, ever meet another woman like you in my lifetime, and I want to ask you if you’ll do the honor of becoming my wife?”
The crowd was silent. Sam could feel the rapid beat of his heart. And when Mia tipped her head back to look up at him, he held his breath.
“No,” she murmured, her smile still sweet, her eyes still so wide and full of expression.
“No?” he asked, as the crowd sighed and someone standing with the cameraman signaled to cut in the background.
“You’re going to have to make it up to me before I say yes, Sam,” she said with a laugh. “One apology in front of a crowd who already loves you isn’t going to make me fall for you just like that. You have to earn it.”
Sam laughed and grabbed her, yanking his mic from his ear and holding her tight as he lifted her off her feet. He dipped his head to kiss her, touching his lips to hers and loving the way she sighed into his mouth, the way her body responded to his, her arms around his neck, her fingers against his hair. Finally he felt happy, that he’d found his way home.
It had taken him way too long to figure out how much he loved Mia, or maybe it had just taken him that long to admit that it was possible for a girl like her to love a messed up son-of-a-bitch like him.
“I love you,” he whispered, his nose touching hers as he spoke words just for her for the first time.
“I love you, too,” she whispered back. “We both do.”
Sam grinned as she moved, tucking against his side as he fist pumped for the crowd before sliding his hand across her stomach and gently resting it there as they walked out.
“You’ve got some explaining to do,” he insisted.
Mia glanced up at him, looking worried. “It’s not just me now, it’s two of us,” she said.
“I can see that,” he replied with a wink. “And two is even better than one.” He cleared his throat, unable to believe that she was with him, that he hadn’t screwed up so bad that he was never going to see her again. “My ex, she hurt me, but I couldn’t see how different you were from her, and I will be apologizing to you for that for the rest of my life.”
“Okay,” she whispered as a lone tear slid down her cheek.
The relief in Mia’s gaze told him she felt as vulnerable as he did, and he stopped to hold her, to wrap her in his arms and stand there for as long as she needed. Because for the first time in a long, long while, Sam suddenly knew that everything was going to be okay.
He had Mia. He had a baby on the way. And he was finally ready to leave his demons in the past where they belonged, instead of letting them haunt his every decision every damn day of his life.
Chapter 24
MIA stretched out beside Sam, smiling when his hand settled over her stomach. It was only slightly rounded, but when she’d pushed her arms up her pajama top had ridden up and exposed her bare skin.
She smiled when he pulled her back against him, nestling into his body. She’d been so tired when they’d arrived home, exhausted from the events of the day, that they’d collapsed into bed and with Sam beside her, she’d fallen fast asleep. Now, she was more than aware of the fact they were in bed together, that he’d spent an entire night with her, yet they both still had their clothes on.
Sam moved down the bed a
nd bent low, pressing a slow, warm kiss to her stomach.
“I can’t believe we have a baby growing in here,” he murmured, kissing her again.
Mia pushed into him, toes flexed against his leg, arms circling around him. “I know.”
He held her, stroking her face, his fingers crossing her cheek. “Were you ever going to tell me?” he asked.
She nodded. “Eventually. I never would have kept your child from you, but until the other day, until I knew…”
“Shhh,” he whispered, moving closer, his thumb brushing her lips. “I know. I sent us both to hell and back, you don’t need to explain anything.”
She ran her hands down his back, liking the fact that he was at least bare-chested.
“I’m sorry, for everything,” he said, mouth close to hers as he spoke. “You opened up to me and instead of listening to you and admitting how I felt, I screwed up.”
“Yeah, you did,” she said as the sun slithered across them, the blinds still open from the day before. “You have a lot of making up to do.”
He laughed, softly, making her smile. “Yesterday I asked you a question, one you gave the wrong answer to.”
“Uh-huh,” she answered, leaning in, nose touching his.
“I need to know what I have to do to get you to change your answer,” he said.
She laughed, touching her lips to his. “I’m not marrying you just because you knocked me up.”
Sam kissed her back, took his time, mouth slow before finally pulling back. “Yeah, that’s the only reason I asked you, guess you figured that one out,” he said dryly.
She giggled when his fingers slipped down her flesh and dipped into the waistband of her pajama bottoms. “Sam!”
“What, don’t tell me we can’t mess around until—”
Mia slipped her hand into his boxers, making him groan, laughing when he cupped her butt. “Oh, we can do plenty of messing around,” she whispered.
She smiled against his lips when he kissed her, loving his touch, happy to be back in his arms again.
“I missed you,” she whispered. “I really, really missed you.”
His eyes glinted, the first time she’d ever seen him look so vulnerable. “I missed you too,” he whispered back. “And you will never, ever have to ask me to stay over with you again. I’m here, for good.”
“Good,” she replied. “Because I might just never let you go.”
Epilogue
SAM leaned back in his chair, beer in hand, daughter tucked into the crook of his arm. He watched Mia as she chatted with Faith, the two of them standing by the table, and wondered what they were laughing about. The two of them got along so well, and he was used to them ganging up on him big time—not that he minded all that much.
“You ever get the feeling that they’re talking about us?” Nate asked, pulling Sam from his thoughts.
“Don’t go thinking you’re that important,” Sam joked, “They’re probably never talking about us.”
Nate grinned and held up his beer, clinking it to Sam’s before sitting down across from him.
“How’s the little lady?” Nate asked, shaking his head. “I still can’t believe you’re a dad.”
“Yeah, that makes two of us,” he replied, gazing down at his daughter. She was so beautiful, her little mouth parted in sleep as she snuggled into him, wrapped in a pink blanket as he held her. He’d never felt so protective or in love his entire life—falling for Mia had been one thing, but falling for this little girl was something else.
“You know they have these beds for babies, right? They’re called cribs, and you can put them in them to sleep on their own?” Nate teased. “They don’t actually have to be attached to you twenty-four seven.”
“Whatever,” Sam glared at him. “This girl can sleep on her daddy whenever she likes.”
Sam looked up when a hand came to rest on his shoulder, followed by long hair brushing his face as Mia bent to look at their daughter. He smiled at her when she turned, kissed her mouth before she had time to pull away.
“What was that for?” she murmured.
“Do I need a reason to kiss the best mama in the world?”
Mia laughed and squeezed into the chair beside him, arm slung around his neck, head dropping to rest on his shoulders.
“I wish I wasn’t so tired,” she muttered, cuddling tighter into him. “How can one tiny human use up every ounce of my energy? I feel like I haven’t slept in days.”
He set his beer down so he could scoop Mia against him, holding both of his girls. Sam knew fatherhood had changed him; it had made him fiercely protective and he was always thinking about his daughter, wanting to do anything and everything he could for her. But Mia had changed him, too. She’d made him a better man. She’d made him want to fight, to open up and be the man she needed him to be, the man he wanted to be for her.
Sophia wriggled in his arms and he looked down at her as one fist pushed out from the blanket and stretched up, her little mouth open as she wriggled. In just three months, he’d become so besotted with her that he couldn’t ever imagine life without her.
“You two lovebirds ready to have dinner yet?” Nate asked with a laugh. “Or are you just going to stare at your offspring all night and make cute baby faces back at her?”
Sam look up and saw Faith sitting on Nate’s knee, his hand on her thigh as she leaned back into him. The twins were inside playing, and the food was all set out on the table outside, and his sister and brother-in-law were laughing. Nate could tease him all he liked, but he’d seen the way he was with his girls and he was just as besotted.
“Yeah, we’re ready,” Sam said, nodding to Mia. “Would you get mine, darlin’? I don’t want to disturb Sophia.”
Mia smiled, kissing him before pushing off. She was wearing a sundress and boots, like she had the day he’d called her into the ring and declared his feelings for her, only this time she was wearing a diamond on her finger and a smile on her face as big as Texas. It had been their little secret for a couple of days, but keeping his mouth shut about it since they’d arrived today had been almost impossible.
“I’m liking this trade-off,” Mia said with a wink. “Me serving you in exchange for daddy daycare duty.”
“Mia!” Faith suddenly gasped, making them all look up.
“What?”
“How did I not notice that huge rock before? Mia, it’s huge! When did this happen?”
Sam grinned when Nate made a face at him. He mouthed something but Sam had no idea what he was saying and just shrugged.
“We wanted to tell you tonight,” Mia said, sporting the cutest pink blush on her cheeks that Sam had ever seen. “In person, rather than over the phone.”
“She finally said yes,” Sam joked, standing with little Sophia still tucked in his arm. “We came over tonight so my sister and best man would be the first in the know.”
“Best man?” Nate asked, one eyebrow arched as he stared back at him.
“The one and only,” Sam said.
Faith squealed and threw her arms around Mia, and both women laughed and talked and giggled like little girls. Nate waited until Mia and Faith had moved away, before coming over and holding out his hand. Sam clasped it and then Nate pulled him in for a one-armed hug.
“I’m so damn proud of you,” Nate said, stepping back and shaking his head. “Man, what happened to the bachelors, huh?”
“Hey, it’s when we both start driving minivans that we have to worry,” Sam joked.
But he saw the look on Nate’s face, knew him well enough to see how genuinely happy he was for him. They’d been through a lot together, and being with Mia and seeing Faith with his best friend, it all made sense now. The universe had thrown a lot at him, but everything had worked out well in the end.
Sophia cried then and he smiled down at her, knowing Mia would be at his side within seconds as he rocked her in his arms and tried his best to comfort her.
“Shhh,” he soothed, jiggling her and pas
sing her over to Mia when she appeared beside him and held out her arms. He watched them both, the mother of his child and his little girl. He’d been so close to walking away from Mia forever, and he was so damn pleased he’d come to his senses. He had Nate to thank for that, and his sister. They’d been hard on him but he’d deserved it.
Sam went and got their diaper bag, knowing Sophia would be hungry and probably wet. Mia settled into the chair he’d been in earlier and he stood for a minute, wondering how he’d gotten so lucky as he watched her feed their daughter, watched a little hand rest on her mother’s breast, and Mia whisper down to her as she nursed.
“It feels good, doesn’t it?” Nate asked.
Sam grinned. “Does it ever.” He’d experienced highs in his career, he’d listened to applause from crowds of people who’d traveled from all over to see him work, but it wasn’t a patch on the way he felt right now.
Coming soon…
Look for the next River Ranch novel by Soraya Lane
All Night With the Cowboy
Available in June 2018 from St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Also by Soraya Lane
I Knew You Were Trouble
Cowboy Take Me Away
The Devil Wears Spurs
PRAISE FOR THE TEXAS KINGS SERIES
I Knew You Were Trouble
“Readers will fall head-over-heels in love with Nate and Faith. Lane’s latest is filled with a huge dose of Southern Texas charm.”
—RT Book Reviews
“First-rate writing and memorable characters prove that sometimes things are worth the trouble as demonstrated by Ms. Lane.”
—Jenerated Reviews
“A fun, endearing, yet heartbreaking read that kept me eagerly turning pages just waiting to see how everything works out for Faith and Nate.”
—Romance Junkies
“For those who love a Texan man and some good flirtation, I recommend I Knew You Were Trouble.”
—Harlequin Junkie
Cowboy Take Me Away